


The Flip Side of Heaven

by LucindaAM



Series: Lovers Lost to Time; Soulmate AU [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, FLUFF EVENTUALLY, Light Swearing, No Smut, Protective Steve Rogers, Shared soulmate injuries, Soulmates, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov are bros, The other gets hurt, Will go through to Captain America Winter Soldier, one gets hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 42,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25276477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucindaAM/pseuds/LucindaAM
Summary: Steve Rogers came out of the ice a different man than the one who went in. And he's not the only one. What neither of you knew before he disappeared for seventy years was that your soulmate bond cuts both ways. One gets hurt, the other bleeds.Maybe that's what's kept you alive for the past seventy years while Steve's been MIA.Maybe that's why SHIELD's kept such a close eye on you since you resurfaced in 1985. Just what else aren't they telling him?Starts just after Avengers and goes through Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Relationships: Natasha Romanov & Reader, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Reader
Series: Lovers Lost to Time; Soulmate AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867126
Comments: 269
Kudos: 160





	1. Saving Grace

Nat nudged Steve’s shoulder the second Fury’s back was turned. Steve shot her a glance and Nat rolled her eyes and gestured away from the rest of the group. Without another look, Nat jumped to her feet and walked away. 

Steve sat frozen for a second before he realized that she wanted him to follow her. 

He glanced around, but no one seemed to pay him any attention as he stood and moved to the back of the room. 

“What’s going on?” He asked quietly. 

Nat glanced over his shoulder to double check that there was no one listening to their conversation and then she reached into her suit and pulled out a folder. She slapped it against Steve’s chest. 

“Listen, Rogers. I like you.” 

“Thank you?” Steve started. 

Nat cut him off quickly. “There’s something I think you should see. Fury and I disagree on how it ought to be handled. I think you have a right to know. Consider this an early birthday present.” 

Steve stared at her, baffled, but nodded his head anyway. 

Nat sent him a knowing smirk before she sauntered away leaving a very confused Steve behind with a rather thick file. 

It had only been a few weeks since the disaster that was the battle of New York. Steve had slowly begun finding a sense of regularity in his new role in this future world. But he still couldn’t, for the life of him, figure Natasha Romanov out. 

He sighed and glanced down at the manilla folder. He shook his head once before he opened it up. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was a photo he knew better than the back of his own hand. One he’d missed despite it being ingrained into the very fiber of his being. The next thing his eyes were drawn to, almost of their own volition was your name, printed in bold ink across the top of a report. 

Steve flipped the folder shut and before he knew it, he was racing through the halls and out the doors. He barely paid any attention to the traffic laws as he hopped on the back of his Harley and raced through the streets of New York, headed for his dingy apartment. 

Faster than should have been possible, he was locked inside his bedroom, blinds drawn. He sat on his bed, his elbows propped on his knees as he looked at the fat file on his bedside table. 

He’d searched for you when he’d first woken up. He’d been so afraid of what he would find. Would you have survived? Would you remember him? 

In the end, the questions hadn’t had answers. He hadn’t been able to find you. It was like you’d never existed at all. 

Yet suddenly, here you were. An entire life condensed to a single file that now sat judging him silently in the corner of his room. 

Steve let out a shaky breath and reached for the file with shaking hands. 

He had to know. 

Slowly, almost reverently, he opened the file. He pulled the old black and white photograph from the paperclip keeping it with the rest of the file and ran his fingers over your smiling image. 

He missed seeing your smile. 

He set the picture aside with no intention of ever returning it to the file, assuming Romanov even wanted the file back in the first place, and continued his search. 

The first few pages of the report were concise as they detailed your early life. Steve skimmed through the information quickly. Though he craved the idea of being close to you again, the report didn’t warm his heart the way he’d hoped. It wasn’t the same reading an unbiased, almost cold perspective of your early years and education. 

In fact, it wasn’t until he got to himself that his heart began picking up pace. 

“Subject encountered her soulmate, one Steven Grant Rogers (see attached report documenting codename “Captain America” for more information), on July 7th, 1940. Subjects marks activated in the typical manner. No further findings to note until 1942 when Rogers underwent chemical testing with Dr. Abraham Erskine and was dispatched to the front lines. NOTED HERE, FEMALE SUBJECT BEGAN EXPERIENCING THE SAME PHYSICAL WOUNDS, INJURIES AND ABRASIONS THAT MALE SUBJECT EXPERIENCED. ON ONE RANDOM TEST, AGENT ENCOUNTERED FEMALE SUBJECT, KNOCKING HER TO THE GROUND. IN THE SAME INSTANCE, ACROSS THE WORLD, MALE SUBJECT EXPERIENCED SAME INJURIES. IT IS UNKNOWN IF THIS IS A SIDE EFFECT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED CHEMICAL TESTING OR IF IT IS AN EVOLUTION TO THE SOULMATE BOND. FURTHER TESTING TO BE CONDUCTED.” 

The folder fell from Steve’s limp fingers as he jumped to his feet and raced to his bathroom. He ripped his shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground. He glanced over his shoulder at the mirror as he took in the mismatched scars crossing his back. Ones he didn’t remember ever getting. One’s he definitely hadn’t been awake for. ONE’S HE HADN’T HAD UNTIL HE’D COME OUT OF THE ICE. 

A chill raced down his spine. 

You were alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends.
> 
> 1947 - Cold War starts.
> 
> 1991 - Cold War ends.
> 
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you. (Present Day).


	2. Not the Reunion I Was Expecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the votes are in and DANG you guys! You really wanted it to go on! Alrighty then! 
> 
> I spent the better part of three hours this morning mapping out a time line and figuring out where we are going from here. It's gonna get INTENSE and buckle up because it's gonna get ANGSTY. But it's also gonna be great.
> 
> I can't promise a regular updating schedule at the moment, but I'm hoping to post at least once a week, so keep an eye out for that.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Steve spent the next three hours reading and rereading every scrap of information logged in the report. By the end of the three hours, he was a twitching ball of unadulterated anger. It was nearing midnight, but he didn’t care. He hoped back on his bike and took of back to SHIELD. Within an hour, he was practically kicking Natasha’s office door down. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to see the spy waiting for him. 

“Where is she?” He demanded, tossing the folder onto her desk. 

Nat leaned back in her chair, arms folded and sent him and her eyebrow twitched up. “Did you read the file?” She asked. 

“You know damn well I read the file.” Steve seethed. 

Nat reached out and started gathering the scattered papers back into the file. “Then you should know where she is.” 

She held the reassembled file back up for Steve to take. He batted her hand away and slammed his hands on the table. 

“All the file said was that she was in SHIELD custody. Has been for the past thirty years. Where. Is. She?” 

Nat tutted and pulled a sticky note off the pad and held it out for Steve to take. As Steve reached for it, she pulled back for a moment. “Fury can be difficult to work with, but he always does things for a reason. There’s a reason he didn’t tell you about her before now, Steve.” She said. 

Steve reached further and took the note from her fingers. “He kept me from my soulmate for over a year and kept her from hers for longer than that. That’s why SHIELD kept her, isn’t it? She didn’t die like she should have. They knew we were tied which means that I hadn’t died either.” 

Nat glanced at him, her posture relaxed although Steve knew he was starting to tread dangerously close to a line he might not be able to uncross with her. “There’s more happening here than either of you realize, Steve.” She said. 

Steve nodded tersely and turned to leave the room. 

“Do one thing for me?” She asked. 

Steve turned back around and nodded. “Take care of her." Steve looked at the spy with confusion written on his face. Nat shrugged a shoulder. “You’re not the only one who’s come to care about her.” 

On that confusing note, Steve turned and left the office, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against the wall next to it and looked at the tiny slip of paper in his hands. In neat print, a single New York address was listed. Underneath it was another note. 

‘Go ahead, Rogers. She’ll be awake.’ 

Steve glanced wryly at Natasha’s office door once more before he turned and shuffled off towards his bike. For the first time since he’d started courting you all those years ago, he felt truly anxious. 

Steve pulled his bike up outside your apartment building. He was relieved to see it was in the better part of town. He glanced at the slip of paper again. And that you were on one of the upper floors. Much safer. 

Steve parked his bike and with a pounding heart approached the doors. He buzzed your apartment, but nothing happened. He tried again but with the same result. Unwilling to give up so easily, and feeling only mildly guilty, Steve reached out and buzzed every button in the building until the complex door clicked open and he stepped inside. 

Each step closer to your door, and his heart beat faster. He’d thought he’d lost you forever and here you were again. He could hardly believe this was happening. 

He wondered if you’d be happy to see him or if you’d be angry at what he’d done. He wouldn’t blame you either way. He’d just be happy to be with you again. 

Finally, his feet carried him just outside your door. Number 411. He could see the lights coming out from under the door and distantly he could hear music playing. A small smile played on his lips as he made out a few familiar strains of Ella Fitzgerald. 

It was like coming home. 

Suddenly, all his nerves faded away. 

He raised a hand and knocked softly on the door. 

“Just a minute!” He heard you call from inside the apartment. Tears filled his eyes as he heard your voice for the first time in seventy years. You were really here. You were alive. 

A part of Steve had been sure that this had been an elaborate prank set up by Romanov. But you were really here. 

The shuffling of feet got even closer and Steve took a deep breath. 

The door eased open and your face came into view. 

All of Steve’s breath left in a rush. 

You didn’t look a day over twenty-three. In fact, aside from the hairstyle and the clothes, you looked exactly like you had the last time he’d kissed you goodbye. 

He stuttered over your name, a smile gracing his lips and took a step closer. 

You took a step back as your brow furrowed. “Yes?” You asked. 

Steve froze and his nerves were suddenly back in full force. “I . . . it’s me.” He choked out. “It’s Steve.” 

You brow furrowed and your hand started tapping agitatedly on your thigh. “I . . . I don’t know a Steve. I . . . think you should leave. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” You said, clearly upset. 

Steve’s heart shattered into a million microscopic pieces. “Strangers.” He repeated softly, a few tears trickling down his face. 

You nodded. 

Steve shook his head to clear it as the one word from the file he’d skipped over time and time again came back to mind. ‘Dementia.’ 

Steve hadn’t wanted to believe it, but the evidence was right in front of him. 

You started closing the door, but his hand shot out to stop you. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t remember him. It didn’t matter what you’d been through. He’d never stopped loving you and he wasn’t about to now. 

“Wait. Wait! Romanov sent me. You know her? Natasha Romanov.” 

Your tapping hand froze, and your face lit up at the mention of Natasha. You murmured a few things in Russian with a happy look on your face and you swung the door open wider. “Come in, come in! Any friend of Natasha is a friend of mine.” You said happily. 

You immediately began babbling again in Russian as Steve followed you into the apartment and shut the door softly behind him. 

It was a blissful kind of agony to watch you putter around the apartment. Seventy years and all the hell you’d been through and you still moved in that graceful yet purposeful way you always had. Every now and again you’d twirl as though the happiness in your soul needed a bit of an escape. It brought a smile to his face. 

“How do you know my Natasha?” You asked eventually, glancing up at Steve. The blank expression on your face where there used to be a passion cut him to his core, but he did his best to brush it aside. 

“We work together.” Steve said finally. 

You walked up to him slowly and bent forward as though about to share a secret. “You mean with SHIELD?” You asked in a hushed voice. 

Steve’s eyes widened and he reached for your waist instinctively. You giggled as you spun out of reach. “How do you know about that, doll?” He asked. 

You waved a hand in the air. “I helped start it." You said. Another fond smile gracing your lips. “Peggy and I. The terrible twosome. We started it after . . .” You voice faded and your brow furrowed as though you were trying to remember something. Your hand started tapping on your thigh again. 

“Hey, hey, doll. It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about it.” Steve said. 

You shook your head angrily and raised your hands to start tapping on your temples. “I can’t . . . it’s . . . HERE. I know it is!” Steve took a step towards you but you flung a hand out. 

“No!” You screamed. 

Steve froze where he was. 

Behind him, the door swung open and a familiar set of red curls rushed into the room. Natasha took one look at Steve and then at you. You were pacing angrily in the middle of the kitchen, muttering angrily in Russian as you pulled at your hair. 

Natasha gently walked to your side. “It’s okay, Babushka. You’re okay.” Natasha said as she led you quietly to another room. After a moment, Steve heard soft Russian singing as Natasha tucked you into bed. 

Minutes passed and Steve remained frozen in the middle of the kitchen. 

Eventually, Natasha snuck out of the room. 

“Rogers?” She asked softly, looking up at him. “You okay?” 

Steve glanced at her and then back at the door you’d disappeared through. Slowly, he shook his head. 

“She doesn’t . . . she’s not . . .” He struggled to get his thoughts out. 

Nat sighed. “Come on, Rogers. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.” 

Steve followed Natasha blindly as she led him out of your apartment, turning off the lights as she went. She shut the door behind him and quickly locked your door before leading Steve through the apartment building and back down to the street. Nat led him down the street to an all-night diner. She ordered two cups of coffee and led him to a secluded booth in the back. 

For a long moment, they sat in silence, waiting for their coffee to arrive. 

When it finally did, Nat took a sip and looked at him. “Her story’s not the prettiest.” She started. 

Steve kept both hands clasped tightly around his mug. When he didn’t say anything, Nat continued. 

“If you read the file you know that they think the two of you are connected physically in a way that’s nearly unheard of. I cut you, she bleeds. That level of soulmate bond has had . . . affects.” 

Steve nodded slowly, but still didn’t say anything. 

“You were frozen for seventy years, Steve. The docs in SHIELD think that’s what’s kept her so young . . .” 

“They think the dementia is a side effect of my time in the ice, don’t they?” Steve asked quietly, glancing up at Nat for the first time since they’d left your apartment. 

Nat blinked. “Yes.” She said finally. 

Steve glanced out the window. “So, I did this to her. It’s my fault.” 

Nat sighed and followed his line of sight into the dark street outside. “It’s no one’s fault, Rogers. You couldn’t have known.” 

Steve didn’t argue, but deep down he knew that Nat was wrong. It was most definitely his fault. 

“Will she recover now that I’m out?” Steve asked eventually. 

Nat shrugged a shoulder. If Steve had been looking at her he might have even seen the flash of pain that crossed the spy’s face. “They don’t know. Maybe. I guess time will tell. For now, all you can do is be here for her. Some days are worse than others. You never know. They say for soulmates, being around each other can help more than we realize. She might remember you yet.” 

Steve grunted and the two of them sat in silence until the wee hours of the morning when Nat went back to the office and Steve got back on his bike, somehow more alone than he’d been when he first woke up in the twenty-first century.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone seeing any foreshadowing yet? Curious to know what you guys are seeing.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends.
> 
> 1947 - Cold War starts.
> 
> 1991 - Cold War ends.
> 
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.


	3. Will You Remember Me?

Almost a year had passed since Steve had learned of your existence in the twenty-first century. Hardly a day had passed since then that he didn’t spend at least five minutes at your apartment, praying for any hint of remembrance on your face. Though there were times here and there where he thought he saw a hint of the passion he remembered, outwardly very little had changed between your first reunion with your soulmate, and now. 

At least you’d finally stopped referring to him as “Natasha’s friend”. 

Steve leaned against his motorcycle, arms crossed over his chest as he stared unseeingly at the sidewalk in front of your building. Memories of the two of you from before the war flitted through his mind and filled him with a deep sense of longing for something just out of his reach. 

It had been getting harder and harder to see you, to touch you, and not to have you here with him. He missed your easy banter. He missed your self-assured presence. He missed the way you always knew what to say. 

Steve thought he’d known pain when he’d first woken up from the ice and realized he’d never see you again. He’d been a fool. Somehow, this was so much worse than anything he’d felt then. He could only imagine what it would have been like to have watched you deteriorate before his eyes, helpless to stop it. 

Steve let out a sigh of relief. That didn’t seem to be happening, though. The doctors were still stumped as to why your brain had reacted the way it had to Steve’s time in the ice but they were able to confirm whatever had been slowly pulling apart your mind had stopped. You hadn’t gotten better in the year you’d spent together, but you hadn’t gotten worse either. 

Nat was convinced it was only a matter of time before Steve’s presence in your life brought you back, one way or another. 

Steve was beginning to lose hope that anything would change. 

The shrill tone of Steve’s phone startled him from his thoughts. He pulled the device from his pocket and saw Nat’s name staring back at him. Somehow he wasn’t surprised. 

“Hello?” 

“You just gonna stand out there all day? Or are you going to come up?” 

Steve’s head shot up and he spotted a certain red-headed assassin staring back at him from your fourth-floor windows. She gave him a jaunty wave before she disappeared from view. 

Steve lowered the phone from his ear, eyes still staring up at the window. 

Then there was that. 

Steve’s eyes narrowed slightly as he pushed himself off the motorcycle and wrestled his phone back into his pocket. 

A year ago, Nat had implied that she cared about you. Steve had seen the evidence of that in the way Nat was a near permanent fixture in your life. Natasha was at your apartment almost as much as Steve was. 

At first, Steve had been grateful to the spy. Her presence in your life gave you and added layer of protection. As time had gone on, however, Steve had started to grow suspicious. Though he didn’t doubt Nat had truly defected to SHIELD seven years ago, cutting all ties with her former life, what little evidence he’d found indicated that she’d gone almost right to your side and hadn’t left since. 

When it came to you, he reserved the right to be suspicious of everyone and with Nat? Something wasn’t adding up. 

Before he knew it, he was standing outside your door, hand poised to knock. Before he could even try, the door swung open and Natasha appeared. “Rogers.” She said simply, standing aside so he could move back into the apartment. Just as they always had been, Steve’s eyes were immediately drawn to you as you sat at the table, head bent over a laptop as you furiously typed something. You were so focused on what you were doing, you didn’t seem to notice him. 

“Romanov.” Steve responded, eyes still glued to you. “How is she?” 

Nat shrugged a shoulder and moved to stand beside Steve as he leaned against the wall of your entryway. “She’s a Rogers.” 

Steve glanced at the spy, but Natasha wasn’t looking at him. She was busy staring at you. He opened his mouth to question the odd statement but Natasha beat him to it. 

“I have somewhere I need to be. Are you planning on staying long?” She asked. 

“You always make sure to leave her with a babysitter?” Steve tried joking. The spy started at him blankly until Steve shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll be here for a few hours.” He murmured turning red under her gaze. 

Nat nodded once before she shot you a look. “I’ll be back later, alright Babushka?” 

You didn’t even glance up from what you were doing as you nodded your head. Nat sent a quick smile in your direction, one Steve barely caught, before she turned and left the apartment, leaving you and Steve alone. 

The only sound that could be heard was the fierce tapping of the keys on your keyboard and an occasional murmur under your breath in what sounded like Russian. Not for the first time since Steve had reunited with you did he wonder where you’d picked up the language. You sure as hell hadn’t known Russian before he'd gone into the ice. 

He sighed and sat on one of the barstools, angling it behind the kitchen island so he could watch you work. He thought over the file on your life that was currently sitting, once again, on his bedside table. 

In spite of the government’s obvious interest in you before he’d frozen, there was precious little in your file between then and now. In fact, it wasn’t until thirty years ago that you’d appeared back on the face of the earth at all. SHIELD had scooped you up immediately but the report you’d given when you’d suddenly reappeared had been all but redacted. Natasha could have taught you, true. The two of you had an unexplainable bond. Then again, you could have learned Russian during your time unaccounted for. 

Steve’s blood ran cold as he thought over the possibilities. Nearly forty years of your life were unaccounted for by traditional means. You’d disappeared almost at the same time he had. So, where were you? And perhaps more importantly . . . what on earth had caused the deep cut marks he knew without looking he’d find scattered across your back in the same pattern as the ones now engraved on his own. 

Steve was so lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice you’d stopped typing until a gentle hand reached out and smoothed his clenched fists out. Steve’s eyes shot to your face as you massaged his hands. Your brow was furrowed and you bit your lip as you stared at them. He would have given anything in that moment to know what you were thinking about. 

“Doll?” He whispered, only just barely resisting the urge to reach out and cup your face. 

Your eyes fluttered closed but the furrow in your brow grew more pronounced. You shook your head slowly. When your eyes opened again, tears were forming in them. 

Steve couldn’t help himself then as he reached out and gently brushed them away. “You’re crying.” He whispered. 

“I don’t know why.” You replied. 

Steve’s eyes closed and he bit back the weary sigh that threatened to escape. Instead, he cupped your face in both of your hands and pressed his lips to your forehead. He would die a thousand deaths to take your pain away from you. But there were somethings not even he could do. 

“You’re okay, yeah?” He whispered, pulling away to look into your eyes. For the briefest hint of a second, your expression seemed to clear and the spark of something familiar lit up your eyes. Before Steve could examine it further, you spun out of his embrace and twirled around the island. 

“Where did my Natalia go?” You asked, glancing around the apartment. Your brow furrowed and you started tapping on your thigh in agitation. It was a sign Steve had become all-too familiar with in the past year. You were getting agitated. 

Instantly, he was on his feet and by your side. You reached down and stilled your hand against your thigh by pressing his against it. He reached his other arm around your waist and pulled your front to his chest. Instinctively, your free pressed against his chest. 

He didn’t know why physical touch soothed you as instantly as it did when you got lost in your own mind, but he didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to hold you close and pretend, if for just a moment, that everything was okay. 

Steve didn’t know how long the two of you stood there, lost in your embrace, but it must have been awhile before he heard a voice clear behind him. 

He sighed agitatedly as he released you and turned to face the spy who had just returned. 

Nat had an unreadable expression on her face as she looked at the two of you. Steve opened his mouth to question if she was feeling alright, but the spy shook her head and thrust a file into his hands. 

Steve glanced at it wearily as he took it. “Nothing good ever comes from you handing a file like this, Romanov.” He said, voice low. 

You pulled away from the one arm Steve still had wrapped around your waist and moved to Nat’s side. You flung your arms around her neck and pressed your forehead against her temple as you held her a little closer than usual. Both Steve and Nat pretended not to notice although Nat pulled you closer to her side and wrapped her arms around you protectively. 

Steve distracted himself by opening the folder. He read through a few lines before he glanced up at the spy. “DC?” He asked incredulously. “They want me to move to DC?” He shook his head adamantly and slammed the folder shut. “I’m not leaving her.” 

Nat scoffed. “They want US to move to DC.” She corrected. “And I’m not saying you should. She’d come with us.” 

Steve squinted at the spy and finally asked the question that had been building in the back of his mind for the past year. “Who is she to you, Romanov?” 

For a long moment, a thick silence permeated the apartment. Russian spy and American soldier stood in a stand-off that Steve wasn’t sure he’d be able to win. Almost as soon as the question had left his lips, he was filled with the distinct impression he’d crossed a line. Still, he refused to blink as he stared the spy down. He had to know. 

Just as you were beginning to tap on your thigh, Natasha broke the tense silence. 

“She’s family.” She said in a voice that brokered no argument. 

Steve let out the breath that he’d been holding and nodded. “She’s family.” He echoed. 

It was both a promise and a threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhh baby. Still so much angst! I know! Things are starting to happen though! If you're following along with the timeline I keep at the bottom, we just hit 2013. Next chapter is also going to see a time jump of about a year, but that will put us right in 2014 or in other words, right in the middle of CATWS.
> 
> Still curious to know where you think it's headed! Lemme know in the comments! I have some big things planned for everyone and I THINK we're going to find out where reader and subsequently Steve got those scars very soon.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with it! Fluff is coming! I promise!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends.
> 
> 1947 - Cold War starts.
> 
> 1991 - Cold War ends.
> 
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - (Present Day).


	4. Washington DC

Steve watched helplessly as you paced around the rooms of your new apartment. Though your hand wasn’t tapping against your thigh, you were wringing both hands together as you hunched in on yourself. You were muttering wildly in Russian and although he’d begun taking classes in an attempt to learn the tongue you seemed most comfortable with, you were muttering too quickly for him to understand what you were saying. From the tone of it, though, you were upset. 

Steve had called Natasha almost twenty minutes before the spy arrived at your doorstep. He opened the door and sent her a relieved smile. “She’s been like this since we got here.” He said, waving towards you. “I can’t understand what she’s saying.” 

Natasha gave him a distracted nod as she glanced you over. “Babushka?” She called out. “Are you okay?” 

Your head whipped up at the sound of her voice and you froze in your tracks. You stood there blankly for a minute before suddenly, you broke into heart wrenching sobs. 

Natasha was by your side in an instant. She wrapped you in her arms and rubbed your back soothingly as you buried your face in her shirt. She muttered to you gently. You choked out answers to her questions in between your gulping sobs. 

Steve watched helplessly from the sidelines. 

Finally, Nat glanced up at him. “She’s going to be okay.” She said simply. 

Steve shook his head with a broken expression on his face as he watched Natasha slowly soothe you. “What’s wrong?” 

“The move has been hard on her.” 

“Why?” Steve asked, desperate to know what the cause of your distress was so he could fix it. 

Nat sighed. “She doesn’t recognize the place.” 

Steve’s shoulders slumped. “It’s that scary, starting over?” He asked softly. 

Though he couldn’t see her, the spy was watching him with a sympathetic expression. “Imagine being in her head, Steve.” She said gently. “Half the time she hardly recognizes what’s in there. Having a safe place that she knew like the back of her hand was a comfort.” 

Steve nodded. “How long had she lived at her last place?” He asked. 

“Almost thirty years.” Natasha replied softly. 

Steve’s head shot up. 

Nat shrugged a shoulder. “SHIELD found her in 1985. Fury was actually one of the junior agents tasked with finding her the apartment. She hadn’t left since.” 

Steve glanced at you and Natasha managed to pry your arms off her body and turn you to Steve. Without hesitating, you wrapped your arms around him tight enough to make the Super Soldier grunt. But he didn’t complain as he wrapped you up just as tightly and tucked your head under his chin. 

He felt you let out a deep breath and slowly calm down as he held you in his embrace and he felt a sense of completeness. You trusted him. 

Nat watched the two of you with her arms crossed over her chest. 

Steve glanced over at her. “Did your nurse friend agree to watch her?” He asked gently, not wanting to upset you again. 

Steve and Natasha had spent the better part of a couple of months making plans for your big move. They’d found an apartment the floor above the one SHIELD had rented for Steve and they’d managed to convince the current occupants to vacate for a handsome fee. There was one other problem though. 

Steve knew that being ordered to DC meant he was about to become a lot busier. He was hesitant to leave you alone for long periods of time. When he’d brought up his concern to Natasha, she’d readily agreed. 

“I have a friend.” She’d mentioned casually. “A nurse I know. She lives not too far from there. I bet we could get her an apartment in the building too. She can keep an eye on her.” 

Steve had been hesitant to trust a stranger, but since his standoff with Natasha, the two of them had come to an understanding when it came to you. They’d do whatever it took to protect you. 

So, Steve had agreed. 

“She’s moving in to the apartment across from yours tomorrow.” Natasha said. 

“What’s her name?” 

“Kate.” 

Steve nodded. He made a mental note to dig into Kate’s background when he had a second. In the meantime, he was content to spend as much of his time with you as he could. 

There was a knock on the door and your hold on your soulmate loosened as you turned towards the noise. Natasha wordlessly made her way to the door and opened it. 

Immediately your face lit up. “Barton!” You yelled excitedly. You pulled away from Steve entirely and practically tackled Clint to the ground with the force of your embrace. He chuckled as he braced himself to keep the two of you upright. His arms went around your waist as he lifted you into the air. “Babushka!” He called lovingly. 

Steve did his best to ignore the pangs of jealousy shooting through his heart. 

Clint dropped you to the ground and smiled at you fondly. “How have you been?” He asked. 

You shook your head. “I don’t like it here.” You whispered quietly, taking one of his hands in yours. Clint shook his head and brushed some of your hair out of your face. Though your words were quiet, Steve’s super hearing picked them up without a problem and they cut straight through his heart. 

Clint shot a glance at the devastated look on Steve’s face and then at Nat’s impassive one before he turned back to you. Though the spy didn’t show it, he knew Nat was hurt by your words as well. A plan formed in his head. 

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” He asked gently. “Why don’t we do something fun, huh? That way you can see it’s not so bad here.” 

You glanced up at him quizzically. A large grin showed on his face. “I brought Lucky.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows. A smile so bright it could have lit an entire city grew on your face. 

“Let’s go!” You called, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the apartment. 

Clint laughed and trailed behind you. 

“What’s a Lucky?” Clint heard Steve asking. 

Nat chuckled drily. “He’s a dog and a menace.” She replied. 

“I heard that!” Clint called over his shoulder. 

Nat just laughed. 

You and Clint burst out onto the street only moments later. You glanced at the spy as you bounced on your toes. “Where is he?” You asked, biting your lip. 

“Come on, Babushka. Let me lead the way.” Clint said, throwing an arm over your shoulder and leading you to his SUV. The second you spotted Lucky’s face peaking out from the open window, you bolted towards the car. 

“Lucky!” You cooed. Clint chuckled and unlocked the doors remotely. You wasted no time in flinging them open and Lucky wasted no time in tackling you to the ground. He licked your face like he hadn’t seen you in years. 

Steve raced to your side, muscles tensing for a fight. When he saw you laughing under the dog, he calmed down and smiled at you lovingly. “Lucky?” He asked, glancing at Clint. 

Clint nodded. “That’s pizza dog.” He said fondly. 

Clint let Lucky get his kisses in for a few more minutes before he reached down and hauled the dog off of you. “Alright, you big lug, leave some for the rest of us.” 

You laughed as you wiped your face off with your sleeve. Steve reached down and offered a hand which you took gratefully. He pulled you to your feet almost effortlessly though you leaned down immediately to pet Lucky. 

“Who’s a good boy? Hmm? Who’s a good boy?!” 

Natasha strolled up next and smiled at the sight. “What’s the plan, Barton?” She asked. Clint smiled. 

“How do you feel about a picnic at the park?” Clint asked, nudging your shoulder. 

You sent a blinding smile up at the three of them. “Can we?” You asked. 

In unison, none of them able to resist that smile, they responded. “Yes.” 

An hour later, you were sitting on the grass, playing tug of war over a slice of pizza with Lucky. Natasha was lying casually beside you, sunglasses shielding her eyes, arms crossed behind her head. To the casual observer, she might appear to be asleep. Steve and Clint knew otherwise. 

Clint leaned against a tree a few feet away. Close enough to help if danger presented itself, but far enough away to not draw any attention to himself. Though none of them had discussed it, the three Avengers that accompanied you to the park had instinctively taken shifts as look out. 

Steve glanced at Clint who was watching you with a slight smile on his lips and stood from his position beside you. He moved to lean against Clint’s tree. 

You gave up your mock fight with the dog and laughed as Lucky happy ate his reward. You turned to Nat and said something, laughing when the spy lazily replied. 

Steve’s heart sung at the sight. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he could make this work. It wasn’t the life he’d pictured, sure. But he could make it work. 

“You have something on your mind, Steve?” Clint asked casually. 

Steve glanced sharply at the archer. 

Clint smirked. “Just cuz Nat’s got more of the brains doesn’t mean I’m not a spy. I’m offended you forgot that.” 

Steve snorted but didn’t respond. 

Clint nudged his shoulder. “What’s on your mind?” He pressed. 

Steve glanced at you and Nat as you continued chatting with the spy. You had reached out and grabbed one of Nat’s hands, squeezing it in your own as you gestured at the clouds floating above you. 

“I don’t understand the relationship between the two of them.” He admitted. 

Clint sucked in a startled breath. Steve turned to him, but when the spy didn’t say anything, Steve continued. “Nat told me once that she was family and I know Nat would do anything to protect her. But . . .” Steve trailed off. 

Clint shook his head slowly when it was clear that Steve wasn’t going to continue. “They’ve known each other a long time.” He started. 

“Seven years by my count.” Steve agreed. “She was Nat’s handler when you brought Nat in.” 

Clint shook his head slowly but his gaze never left you. “Longer than that . . . really.” He said. 

Steve’s brow furrowed before something clicked. He sucked in a horrified breath. “The red room.” He murmured. 

Steve had read Nat’s file. What little of it there was. He didn’t know much about her life before she joined SHIELD, but he knew enough. A cold terror washed over him as he thought over the mysterious pieces of your life he’d been struggling to place. The scars, the Russian, your unique relationship with the otherwise emotionally distant spy. It all fit. It all fit alarmingly well. 

Just what kind of hell had you lived while he’d been frozen? 

“Look man . . . it’s not my story to tell. If you want to know, you need to ask Nat.” 

“She’s not going to tell me. I’ve already asked.” Steve responded firmly. 

Clint glanced at him. “Have you?” He asked, squinting at Steve. 

Steve shifted nervously under his gaze. Clint sighed. 

“Nat’s been through hell, Rogers. Babushka too. It’s not something Nat likes to relive. If you really want to know, you need to give her a damn good reason to open up.” Clint was firm on this. Though he liked Steve, he’d choose Nat in a heartbeat, every time. Steve was about to open up old wounds and Clint had to consciously hold back the desire to wrap Nat up and take her away from it all. He knew better than most that some wounds needed to be reopened to heal properly. He had a feeling this was one of them. 

“You should ask her, though. I think she needs someone to talk to about it.” Cint said softly. 

Steve glanced at the soldier for a long moment before he nodded. He recognized this for what it was. Clint was giving his blessing. Steve wasn’t going to waste it. 

The two of them feel into an easy silence after that. For the next hour they watched with varying degrees of smiles as you wandered between the two of them and Nat, chattering happily about the world around you. At one point, you’d grabbed Clint's arm and dragged him away, challenging him to a tree climbing competition. Steve watched with an odd mixture of anxiety and awe as you quickly shimmed up the tallest tree in the park, easily outpacing the archer and proudly declaring yourself Queen of the Park. His heart had nearly leaped out of his chest when you’d climbed partway back down and then leaped from the tree, trusting him to catch you. Steve held you extra close as his arms plucked you out of the sky. 

You’d kissed his lips chastely in thanks as you’d scrambled out of his arms. 

Steve had stood frozen like that for a long moment before you’d realized he wasn’t following and you’d gone back to drag him back to the rest of the group. 

Still though, before long, you were exhausted. The three Avengers easily got you back to your apartment. Steve made you eat a small dinner before he’d lead you to your room and had tucked you into bed. He’d pressed a single kiss to the top of your head before he’d snuck out of the room. 

Nat was waiting for him. 

“We need to talk.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

She nodded as she mirrored his pose though an angry smile crossed her lips. “I guess we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil' bit of fluff before we get back to the angst. BUT! We're about to get some biiiiiig revelation backstory next chapter. We are on a ROLL with the writing today! So! How would you feel about getting an extra chapter or two today?
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.
> 
> 1991 - Cold War ends.
> 
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC. (Present Day).


	5. Your Crazy Sort of Life

“Clint talked?” She asked as the two circled each other in your living area. 

Steve didn’t say anything but something on his face must have given him away. Nat cursed in Russian. “Wasn’t his story to tell.” 

“Funny. He said the same thing.” 

Nat froze in her tracks and Steve copied the movement wearily. “I asked you once who she was to you.” He started. Nat’s expression didn’t change. “Wanna give me the real answer this time?” He finished. 

Nat glanced at the ground for a long time. “I didn’t lie.” She said finally. There was a hint of something in her voice that Steve had never heard before. It almost sounded like . . . vulnerability? Nat continued before Steve had a chance to read too much into it. “She IS family.” 

“You met in the red room.” Steve said, nodding. He’d already figured this part out. The two of you had bonded the way soldiers did. The way the Avengers had. The horrors of war had built you into a family. 

Nat laughed bitterly. “Our story is a lot darker than that.” She bit out. 

Steve felt his heart skip a beat at the dark tone in the spies voice. When he felt his heart start beating again, a feeling of dread washed over him. 

Nat sighed and rolled her head. “Take a seat, Rogers. It’s a long story.” 

Steve reluctantly moved to sit on the couch. In an uncharacteristic display of nerves, Nat started pacing in front of him. 

“At the end of 1945 you went into the ice and the war ended.” She began. 

Steve immediately interrupted, shaking his head. “I know this part, Nat. What happened to the two of you?” 

Nat shot him a look so full of venom that Steve flinched. He leaned back in his seat. After he’d been properly humbled, Nat continued with a softer voice than her expression dictated. “To understand you need to go back to the beginning, Rogers.” She paused a moment and her expression cleared. A gentle sympathy replaced it. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?” She asked. 

Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Was he ready to hear about the hell you’d lived without him there to save you? No. But he needed to. He owed you that much. 

He nodded tersely. 

Nat didn’t seem to believe him, but she didn’t contradict him either and for that he was thankful. 

Nat crossed her arms and stared out the window at the quickly darkneing skies. 

“At the end of 1945, you went into the ice and the war ended.” She started again. “Babushka was . . . different after you ‘died’. She had always been just as much of a risk taker as you had been but something about your ‘death’ spurred her on even more so. I think she knew that one day it was likely to end with her going out in a blaze of glory, but I think at that point, she didn’t care. The sooner she went out, the sooner the two of you would be reunited.” 

Steve’s heart cracked on the inside, and he felt a tear slip down the side of his face. He wanted to be angry that you put yourself into dangerous situations on purpose but deep down he couldn’t blame you. If he’d been in your shoes, he would have done the same. 

“1945 was a unique time. Though the war had been won, not all the evil in the world had been vanquished. Your gal’ and Peggy Carter both recognized that while World War II was over, there would be more and the threats that came with them would be bigger than the world would be ready for. They founded SHIELD together. 

“Just as quickly as your war ended, another one was already brewing.” Natasha whispered your name like a prayer. “She caught wind that a war between Russia and the United States was imminent. She and Peggy quickly made a plan to send a spy to Russia before war was officially declared and travel between the two countries nearly impossible to accomplish. You can guess who volunteered. 

“Peggy tried to convince her to stay. Said that you wouldn’t want her risking her life in what was sure to be a suicide mission. But by the time Peggy had managed to scrounge up an agent to go instead, Babushka had already gone on ahead. Peggy’s agent tried to follow her, but it was too late. The borders were being patrolled too closely. She was in enemy territory with no back up and no way out.” 

Steve’s hands clenched in his lap as Natasha continued the story. Some of it had been in the file that Natasha had given him nearly a year and a half ago. Some of it was news. All of it was hard to swallow. He felt like it was all his fault. He had driven you to this extreme. 

“What happened?” He choked out. He could sense something much bigger looming on the horizon. 

Nat closed her eyes and cleared her throat. “What neither Peggy nor Babushka knew when she slipped across the border was that she wasn’t the only soul she was smuggling across.” 

Steve’s head shot up to meet Nat’s stare. Once again, Nat’s impassive mask was pulled over her features, but Steve thought he could see cracks in the surface of it. 

“She was pregnant.” He whispered, horror filling him. 

Nat nodded once and sealed his fate. 

You’d been pregnant. He’d had an entire family at one point, and he’d been frozen in the ice and missed all of it. A deep-rooted sorrow filled his soul and he stood abruptly from the couch and paced a few feet away and back. He’d had a child once. But he knew without asking that he didn’t have one now. 

His heart broke again when he thought of what you must have gone through losing your baby. He felt like he’d somehow abandoned you all over again. 

It took a few minutes before he was calm enough to turn his attention back to Natasha. She seemed to have been waiting for his signal because she continued her story as though nothing had happened. 

“In the summer of 1946, Babushka gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Alena.” Natasha’s voice lowered to whisper as she spoke the name of the child Steve Rogers would never get to know. For a minute, the two Avengers were silent, both locked in their own grief. 

Natasha was the first to recover. She cleared her throat. “For the next thirty years, the two of them worked secretly to dismantle the government from within. For years they sent coded messages to SHIELD. It was too dangerous for Peggy to attempt to respond to either of them. They never knew if SHIELD was getting their messages. They never knew if their latest message would be their last. But it didn’t matter. The two of them worked tirelessly and though they couldn’t have known, their efforts were paying off more than they could ever realize.” 

“Alena was a spy?” Steve asked, clinging to the small connection of his daughter’s life. 

Nat nodded and watched him closely as he digested the information. “Babushka tried keeping Alena out of it, but Alena had inherited your stubbornness. She was a true-blue-through-and-through American hero, Rogers. You should be proud.” 

Steve nodded and felt another tear slip down his cheek. “I am.” He whispered. Of course he was. “But what . . .” 

“She died.” Nat said bluntly, tone hard. 

Steve flinched. 

Nat let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, glancing out the window again. “She . . . I . . .” 

“It’s okay.” Steve whispered. 

“She lived a good life.” Natasha whispered, consolingly. Steve wasn’t sure if it was him or herself that she was trying to comfort. “She married in 1978. She was thirty-two. Her husband, Viktor . . . he was a genius they say. Could have had a successful life. But he gave it all up to marry Alena and keep her and her mother safe.” Nat paused for a long moment and Steve watched her try to wrestle herself back under control. 

“They had a baby together.” Nat continued. The cracks in her mask were getting wider and Steve thought he saw tears gathering in her own eyes. “A baby, it’s said, that they loved more than life itself.” 

Steve felt the tremor of anticipation run through him as Nat continued staring out of the window. 

“Who was the baby?” He asked softly, glancing at the woman before him with new understanding. “What was the baby’s name?” 

Nat took a deep breath and glanced at him. 

“Her name was Natalia Romanov. And she was loved.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I warn you? Or did I warn you? BIIIIIIIIIG revelations. 
> 
> And I GOTTA ask. What are we thinking? Pleeeeeease let me know.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984- Natasha is born.
> 
> 1991 - Cold War ends.
> 
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC. (Present Day).


	6. Your Own Red Room

For a long minute, Steve and Nat stared at each other from across the room and then, unable to help himself, Steve crossed to Nat’s side and pulled her to his chest, wrapping her in a tight embrace. "Why didn’t you tell me?” He cried. 

Natasha let out a watery chuckle and pushed away from Steve. He let her go and settled back on the coffee table behind him as she violently brushed her tears away. “I don’t trust people Steve. It’s not in my nature.” 

Steve nodded slowly. “The Red Room.” He said simply. 

Nat nodded. 

“What happened, Nat?” He asked gently. 

“Babushka realized that somewhere along the line, she or Alena had made a mistake. The secret police were closing in. Babushka knew that if Viktor publicly decried her as an American spy, his family would be viewed as nationalists and would be protected. Alena begged her not to do it. But Babushka was determined. She would do whatever it took to protect her daughter and her family.” 

Steve’s heart clenched as Natasha seemed to fold in on herself. 

“She didn’t.” He whispered. 

Nat’s gaze hardened. “She did what she had to.” 

“How old were you?” 

“When she tried to lead them away from us? A few days old. When they caught up to us anyway? I was eight.” 

Steve’s head fell into his hands. He’d thought he’d done the right thing by sinking the Tesseract into the ocean. But had he? In the end, the Tesseract was recovered anyway. And his family had paid the ultimate price in every regard. If only he'd been there . . . 

“She knew that the only way to protect Alena was to give the authorities what they wanted. She led them on a chase, getting as far away from Alena and her family as possible. Babushka wasn’t a fool. She knew she was never going to see her family again. She went to her certain death will a willing heart.” 

“But she didn’t die.” 

“No.” Nat said simply. “She didn’t.” 

“The scars on her back . . .” 

“They had her for over six months before Peggy found out and was able to rescue her. They had their fun.” Nat’s hands were clenched around her biceps, her knuckles white. It was clear she wasn’t going to say anything else about the subject and Steve wasn’t sure he could hear any more either. He let the subject drop as he clung to the knowledge that you were safe now. 

“She was on death’s door when they got her back to the United States. It’s a miracle she survived. Looking back on it, I would say you kept her alive by being frozen in the ice.” 

Nat reached out and put a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “You saved her, Rogers.” 

He was already shaking his head. He didn’t feel like he’d done anything, but Nat was quick to correct him. “You saved her.” 

The two of them watched each other for a long moment. Steve reached up and held Nat’s hand against his shoulder, squeezing her fingers gently. 

“And what happened to your mother?” He asked. 

The moment was broken as Natasha flinched away. She resumed her agitated pacing. “For a time, the secret police were appeased. They hadn’t killed Babushka, sure. But they’d hurt her. They probably would have left Alena and her family alone forever if one piece of information hadn’t surfaced. 

“When Babushka realized she was pregnant, she realized the danger her unborn child would be in if anyone ever found out about the super soldier serum that ran in the baby’s veins. She did everything in her power to bury the knowledge that you were the father. She remembered how much had gone into recreating the formula before and she wasn’t willing to risk the chance that Alena would be taken and experimented on in the name of science. 

“For a long time, it worked. But somehow word got back to the motherland that Alena was the daughter of Steve Rogers, the great Captain America. She was dead within the week.” 

“But . . .” Steve started. 

Nat shook her head furiously. “The Red Room had already been founded. Its goal was to take orphaned children and turn them into Russia’s greatest warriors. When Alena proved herself to be a loyal American, there was no need for her. Though she was a purer sample of the serum they desperately wanted to recreate, why take a prisoner that will fight them at every turn when they could take a child and mold her into the perfect weapon?” Nat swallowed hard. “Alena’s daughter . . . my blood has the same serum that runs through your veins, Steve. It’s not quite as potent but it was enough for what they needed. Alena didn’t stand a chance.” 

Steve held out a hand for Nat to take. She stared at it for a moment as though she didn’t recognize the gesture before she slipped her fingers into his. He squeezed her hands gently. “They killed her?” He asked, not really needing the answer. 

Nat nodded. “Robbery gone wrong. Or so they claimed. I was taken to the red room the same day.” She snorted bitterly. “I was supposed to be Russia’s greatest asset. The granddaughter of the great Captain America. They were proud of their accomplishment. It was their mistake for telling me. I’m no one’s slave.” 

“When did you get out?” 

“2006. Clint found me.” A small smile graced her lips and she squeezed Steve’s fingers back. “He brought me to SHIELD. Fury . . .” Nat chuckled. “Fury almost shot me then and there. He still might have if Babushka hadn’t arrived. She took one look at me and broke down into tears.” 

Nat pulled her hand away and reached into the inner lining of her jacket. She rummaged around for a moment before she pulled out a wrinkled photograph, well-worn and well cared for by the look of it. She glanced at it with a sad smile on her face before she held it out to Steve. He took it gently. Tears trailed down his face as he looked at your smiling face. So much had changed. Beside you, a young woman stood. Her eyes were bright and happy. She looked just like Natasha. 

“Alena.” Steve breathed, looking at the face of his daughter for the first time. 

“Babushka said it was like seeing a ghost when we met that first day. She hadn’t known what had happened to Alena or Viktor but she’d guessed when the messages had stopped coming. She thought she thought she’d lost the only family she had. I did too. It took awhile for her to break me down.” Nat whispered, gently tugging the photograph from Steve’s fingers and tucking it safely back away. “But in the end, she won me over.” 

Nat glanced at Steve. “We’re family.” She said, repeating the same line she’d been telling him for months. 

Steve nodded. “WE’RE family.” He corrected. 

Nat took in his earnest expression and nodded quickly. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before, Nat. But I’m here now. Whatever you need.” 

Nat nodded slowly and for the first time since the three of you had gotten back from the park, her tense stance relaxed. “I’ll hold you to it, dedushka.” 

Steve cocked his head. “Dedushka?” He asked. 

“Would you prefer gramps?” 

The tension in the room easily broke as Steve grimaced. “Dedushka is fine.” He murmured. 

Nat laughed quickly. 

The sound of a door opening drew both their attention quickly. 

“Babushka, what are you doing up?” Nat chastised gently. 

You shook your head. “I heard talking and couldn’t sleep.” You said, rubbing your eyes. 

Nat moved towards you and gently spoke to you. The low murmurs were too low for Steve to follow, but as he watched his . . . granddaughter interact with the love of his life, a piece of him melted before it was reshaped into something much firmer and unyielding. 

He hadn’t been able to protect his daughter and that was a regret he would have to live with for the rest of his life. But he could protect you and Nat. He’d be damned if anything else happened to either of you ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Backstory is basically caught up. Whew. Crazy right! You and Nat have been through so much! But you're stronger for it and your bond is unbreakable as a result. 
> 
> Nat better watch out, though. She's not used to having parental figures in her life and Steve's about to mother/father-hen the CRAP outta her. Don't particularly imagine THAT going overly well. 
> 
> Next up: CATWS. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC. (Present Day).


	7. Enter STRIKE Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaand we're OFFICIALLY starting off CATWS. What oh what surprises do we have in store?

Steve heard the knock on the door and went to open it. “Hey, Kate.” He greeted. 

“Steve.” The nurse said, nodding at him. 

“You sure you’re okay to spend the night?” Steve asked for the thousandth time. 

Kate laughed. “Don’t worry about me. Mrs. Rogers and I get along great. Go do what you have to do. I promise everyone will still be alive in the morning.” 

Steve looked nervous as he stepped further into the room. You were sitting on the couch, head bent over your laptop, typing something. He’d been trying to get you to tell him what you were always working on for months now, but you wrote in Cyrillic and though his verbal Russian was coming along, he still had a long way to go before he could understand what you were writing. 

“Doll?” He called softly. “Someone’s here to visit.” 

You glanced up. Your eyes met his before slowly shifting to the woman standing behind him. 

“Sharon!” You called excitedly, your face lighting up. 

“Sorry about that.” Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She . . .” 

“You don’t have to explain.” Kate cut him off. “Mrs. Rogers and I have an understanding. It doesn’t hurt anyone if she calls me Sharon.” 

Steve nodded at the nurse but sent another glance in your direction. Maybe he shouldn’t go . . . 

He opened his mouth to say as much when Nat appeared in your doorway. “Ready, Dedushka?” She asked, leaning against the doorjamb. 

Steve glanced from you to his granddaughter and back again. Nat rolled her eyes. “She’ll be fine. Let’s go.” 

Kate nodded. “I’ve got a great night planned. She’s in good hands. Trust me.” 

Steve watched as your eyes bounced between the three people in the room. He could see your hand start tapping against your leg as you sat on the couch and he sighed. As much as he wanted to stay, he had a job to do. 

Besides, he’d made a promise to Nat too. He had to be there to watch her six. 

With a heavy sigh, he walked over to you and placed a kiss on your forehead. As usual, you looked at him blankly as he pulled away, but you didn’t fight it. “Stay safe, doll.” He whispered. 

Then he turned and grabbed his bag, heading for the door. 

“We’ll be back by tomorrow morning.” He reminded Kate on his way out. 

“Don’t worry about us!” Kate said cheerily as she closed the door behind him. 

Kate listened at the door for a long second until the sounds of Steve’s heavy footsteps had faded entirely. Then, she turned to her bag that she’d deposited on your kitchen island and pulled out a strange looking device. 

She approached you slowly. “Are you ready to have some fun?” 

Steve winced as the pounding in his head reached an all time high. 

Nat glanced at him. “Trouble?” She asked. 

He shook his head. “Headaches.” 

“You get those a lot?” Rumlow asked from across the aisle. “I thought the super serum would have gotten rid of those for you.” 

“I used to get ‘em all the time. Before the serum. Haven’t had any until recently though. Not till I moved to DC. They’ve been really bad the past couple of weeks. Nothing helps.” 

Nat pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. 

Rumlow shrugged a shoulder and pulled something up on the screen. 

“Alright! Listen up! Target is a mobile satellite launch platform. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took ‘em.” 

“Any demands?” Steve asked, easily slipping into his Captain personna. 

“A billion and a half.” Rumlow sassed. 

“Why so steep?” Someone else asked. 

“Because it’s SHIELDs.” 

Steve rolled his eyes as he turned to Nat with a pointed look. Ever since he’d been ordered to DC, it felt like he’d been cleaning up one mess after another and everything had one piece in common. Fury. 

"You know, I’m getting a little tired of being Fury’s janitor.” He murmured. 

“Relax. It’s not that complicated. In and out and we’ll be back in time for your breakfast date with Babushka.” 

Steve sighed and turned back to Rumlow. “How many?” He asked. 

“Twenty-five. All top mercs.” 

Steve sighed. Right. Easy. “Hostages?” He asked. 

“Yeah. Intel puts them in the galley.” 

Steve sighed and quickly started issuing orders. Top priority would be the hostages. He could figure out the rest of Fury’s latest mess after he got home. 

Nat moved to the weapons locker at the back of the jet and started strapping weapons to herself. Steve sat beside her and adjusted his suit. 

“You know, you’re more than welcome to join in on the breakfast dates.” He said casually, attempting to bond with his granddaughter. 

It had been a few months since Nat had dropped that revelation on him and while he still felt like he was reeling from it, there was a sense of rightness about it too. He wanted a relationship with her similar to the one she’d had with you before your mind had slipped away but for some reason, the spy had been pulling away. He couldn’t figure out why for the life of him. 

“Yeah?” Nat asked, without looking over at him. 

“I meant what I said, Nat. We’re family. It would be nice to act like it from time to time.” 

Nat slammed the locker shut and glanced at him. Though her expression gave nothing away, she held herself stiffly. “Sounds nice.” She said. “I’ll think about it.” 

She walked towards the front of the jet and Steve sighed. At least no one could say that he wasn’t trying. 

“Coming up on the drop site, Captain.” A voice called out from the front of the jet. 

He cocked his head and moved towards the doors of the jet and they slid open. “She’d kill you if she knew.” Nat called out, shooting him a smirk. 

“So, let’s keep it between us!” He called back before leaping out of the jet without a parachute on. 

Steve dove into the water and quickly swam the length of the ship, looking for the anchor. He wasted no time in climbing aboard the ship and taking out the mercenaries one by one. He tossed a bug against the window of the helm. 

Nat was right. It was easy. 

Too easy. 

Something wasn’t sitting right. 

“STRIKE team in position.” Rumlow murmured into comms. 

“Natasha, what’s your position?” Steve asked, keeping one ear tuned to the bug he’d placed and one ear on the team’s channel. 

Nothing. 

“Natasha? Position?” He had to physically fight back the urge to hunt her down and make sure she wasn’t in danger. 

“Hang on!” She yelled. 

A few seconds passed as Steve clenched his fists. Finally; 

“Engine room secure.” 

Steve let out a breath. “Alright. On my mark.” He said, quickly switching back to business. “Three . . . two . . . one.” 

Steve whipped the shield off his back and flung it through the window of the helm. Almost in the same instance, he vaulted through the hole he’d created. He cursed as he watched the head merc slip through a door on the opposite side. 

“Hostages secure. En route to extraction.” Rumlow said over the comms. “Romanov missed her check in, Cap’.” 

Steve cursed again as he raced through the halls of the only logical escape, hunting down the merc. “Hostiles are still in play. Nat, circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.” 

A static filled his ear. 

“Natasha?” He asked again. Before he could say anything else a heavy foot collided with his shield, knocking Steve to the ground. 

Batroc. 

Steve and Batroc exchanged blows. But something about this guy didn’t seem right. He was too fast to be any kind of naturally gifted fighter. This was quickly becoming more complicated and Steve was getting more frustrated at Fury’s constant lack of information. 

Finally, Steve managed to land a blow that stuck as he and Batroc crashed into another room on the ship. 

An all too familiar voice caught his attention. “Well this is awkward.” Nat said. 

Steve glanced up and saw the spy bent over a keyboard, typing away. “What are you doing?” He asked suspiciously as he pushed to his feet and moved to her side. 

“Backing up a hard drive.” She said simply. “It’s a good habit to get into.” 

“Rumlow needed your help. Where the hell were you?” Steve glanced at the screens and felt a feeling of anger that was becoming all too familiar start to boil up inside of him. “You’re saving SHIELD intel?! The mission was to rescue the hostages!” 

“No.” Nat said, reaching out and pulling the portable disk from the drive. “That was your mission. And you did it beautifully.” 

She moved to skip away but Steve was way past that. He grabbed her bicep and held her firmly in place. “You knew what this was.” He accused. 

“I knew what I needed to know. Same as you.” Nat argued. 

“Yeah? And you didn’t feel like sharing?” 

Natasha blinked at him as though he shouldn’t be surprised. The anger in Steve suddenly burned away until there was nothing but bitter disappointment left behind. “Guess I was wrong.” He said, dropping her arm like it burned him. “Family doesn’t mean what I thought it did.” 

For a fraction of a second, a deep hurt flitted through Natasha’s eyes before they flicked over his shoulder and hardened. Instinctively, Steve spun around just in time to deflect a bomb off this shield. 

His eyes widened and he grabbed Natasha around the waist, throwing the shield up to cover them just seconds before the device detonated. 

The force of the explosion knocked both of them into the wall with a painful crack. 

Natasha rolled onto her side and pushed herself up as Steve panted on the floor. “Alright. That one was on me.” She murmured, trying to break the tension in the air. 

Steve pushed to his feet. “You’re damn right.” He bit out, already chasing after Batroc. 

He didn’t see the devastation that crossed the spies face before she pushed herself to her feet and followed after him. It wouldn’t have made a difference if he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so excited to post this chapter I ditched work early, took a test faster than anyone in the history of creation and then spent the next few hours typing it out. 
> 
> What are you guys thinking?
> 
> Also - any theories as to where this is headed? Lemme know!!!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	8. The Belly of the Beast

Steve was beyond furious. Not only had Batroc managed to get away entirely, but Steve felt like he’d just lost all connection with the only family he had left. Whatever trust he and Nat had been building between them was all but shattered to the winds. 

Not to mention he’d had to call and ask Kate to stay an extra day and he knew how much changes to your routine upset you. 

“You just can’t stop yourself from lying, can you?” He demanded, marching into Fury’s office unannounced. He knew better than to think Fury hadn’t known he was coming. Nat was sure to have given the director a head’s up. 

“I didn’t lie. Agent Romanov had a different mission than yours.” Fury said lazily. 

“Which you didn’t feel obliged to share. She’s my . . .” Steve trailed off. 

Fury turned in his chair to face him. “She’s your what?” He pressed. When Steve didn’t continue, Fury finished the thought for him. “Your granddaughter?” 

Steve was surprised but didn’t let it show. Looking back on it, he should’ve guessed Fury would know. After all, what secrets did Steve have anymore? There was a file with your name stamped on it and the soulmate connection you shared discussed thoroughly in it that said Steve had given up his right and yours to any semblance of privacy a long, long time ago. 

“She may be your granddaughter, Rogers. But she’s my agent. She takes orders. Unlike some people I know.” Fury said. 

“I did follow orders. I got the hostages out.” Steve defended. 

“Then I don’t see what the problem is.” 

Steve leaned closer. “The problem is you’re ordering my soldiers around without my knowledge. The problem is any number of things could have gone wrong and innocent people could have died.” 

“But they didn’t. There’s no room for if’s and but’s in this line of work Captain. You of all people should know that.” 

Steve glared at Fury. 

Fury sighed. 

“Look. I didn’t want you to have to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. Agent Romanov is comfortable with everything. It’s what makes her the best. You should be proud.” 

“Well I’m not.” 

Steve regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth, but he didn’t try to take them back. He’d come to love the spy. Of course he had. They had an unusual relationship, sure. But it was theirs. Still, though. He couldn’t allow his personal feelings to affect what he thought of her behavior. She’d put innocent lives in danger. What was worse, she’d put herself in danger. 

Fury sighed and something in the director's expression seemed to break just a little bit. 

“Follow me.” He said simply, leading Steve out of his office. 

Steve followed behind the man skeptically. Fury led him into an elevator and clearly saw that wherever they were headed, he didn’t have access. 

“Override access. Authorization, Director Nick Fury.” Fury said. 

The elevator ride was filled with tense silence. Both men stewing in their own frustrations. Eventually, the doors opened and Steve stepped into another world. 

Fury stepped out into the giant workspace and nodded at Steve’s look of awe. An entire fleet of helicarriers was under construction in various stages of completion. They reminded Steve of the helicarrier he’d met Nat on a few years earlier with one key difference. Every single one of them was armed to the teeth with weapons big enough to take out entire cities. 

“This is Project Insight.” Fury stated as he began explaining the spec’s of SHIELD’s newest toys. He looked like a proud father as he added; “Once we get ‘em in the air, they’ll never need to come down.” 

Steve glanced around, an unsettled feeling starting to creep in. 

“We’re going to eliminate a lot of threats before they happen.” Fury said, catching Steve’s look. 

Steve shook his head. “Thought the punishment usually came after the crime.” 

“We can’t afford to wait that long.” Fury said. 

“Who’s ‘we’?” 

Fury gestured to the side and Steve followed him. “After what happened in New York, you really want to take the chance that we aren’t prepared again?” 

Steve glanced at the ground. Fury was right. New York had been a bloodbath. Though Steve and the rest of the Avengers had done what they could, too many innocent men and women had died that day because the world hadn’t been equipped to handle and entire army better equipped and better prepared. The world couldn’t go through that again. 

Didn’t mean Steve had to like it. 

He’d spent years fighting to end the last war he’d jumped into. He’d almost lost you in the process. 

Now he had you back and he had a real shot at a family. He wasn’t so eager to throw it all away this time. 

“This isn’t protection.” Steve argued. “This is fear.” 

Fury shrugged a shoulder. “SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be.” He said ambiguously. 

Steve scoffed and turned to leave. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Fury called after him. 

“I have a date I’m late for!” 

Steve opened the door of your apartment and practically threw his bag into the corner of the room. He needed to see you and hold you in his arms. You’d always been home for him and he needed a little piece of that after today. 

He rubbed his head as he tried to soothe his most recent headache away. Maybe he’d raid your medicine cabinet for some Motrin. It hadn’t helped so far, but he was desperate enough to try again. 

Steve headed towards the living area and froze just as he hit the living room. 

Nat was just coming out of your bedroom door. She shut it quickly behind her as her eyes made contact with Steve’s. 

Steve’s eyes narrowed. 

“Nat.” He said. 

“Steve.” She replied. 

There was a tension in the air that hadn’t been there twenty-four hours ago, but Steve did his best to ignore that and the way it hurt that she hadn’t used her new name for him. 

The two held out their awkward staring match for a long while before Steve sighed. He took a few steps towards your bedroom but froze again when Natasha angled herself more fully in front of your room. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked. 

“She’s sleeping, Steve.” 

“It’s almost noon.” 

Natasha shrugged. “Kate had a hard time getting her to sleep last night. You know how Babushka can be.” 

Steve’s arms crossed over his chest. 

Nat sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Steve. Go see what I’m hiding from you.” She waited to for Steve to relax his posture. When he didn’t, she squinted up at him. A hurt expression crossed her face so fast, Steve almost missed it. “You really trust me so little you think I’d hurt her?” She whispered. 

Almost immediately, the tension bled out of Steve’s shoulders. His arms dropped to his sides and his head slumped forward. “Of course not. You’re family.” Maybe if he said it enough, it would sink past the years of torture she’d been through. 

Nat snuck closer to him and put a hand on his chest. “She’s fine, Steve. She’s safe. Let her rest.” 

Steve let out a breath and pressed Nat’s hand closer to his chest for just a second. 

“Yeah. Rest.” He agreed. 

Nat smiled up at him and he smiled weakly back at her before she led him towards the apartment door. “Get some rest yourself, Rogers. I’ll stand guard.” 

Steve glanced at her with a blank expression on her face. She rolled her eyes. “We both know you’re not going to get any sleep unless someone’s here. I sent Kate home for the day. It won’t kill me to stay a few hours. You can relieve me when you wake up.” 

Steve nodded slowly and walked into the hall. Yeah. He needed a few hours. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” He agreed. 

Nat smiled at him and shut the door. 

As soon as he was gone, Nat sped walked back to your bedroom. She quickly slipped back into the room. 

“He’s gone for now, but he’ll be back soon.” She whispered to the blonde who was bent over your writhing body. “How much longer is this going to take?” 

Kate shook her head. “I don’t know.” 

The two women glanced at your tear stained face as Kate pressed her device to your temple. You were letting out pained whimpers as you struggled to get away, but Kate was holding you firmly to the bed. 

Nat bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Babushka.” She murmured, taking one of your hands in yours. “It’ll all be over soon.” She promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So. Uh. Wow.
> 
> And that's all I have to say about that.
> 
> On another note though, this has ABSOLUTELY taken on a life of it's own and is turning out to be a longer project than I anticipated. I hope you don't mind a bit of a longer ride! 
> 
> As always, lemme know what you guys think! You're comments are 100% spurring me on.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	9. Enter the Winter Soldier

The sound of shattering glass startled Steve awake from his pain induced sleep. He glanced at the clock next to his bed. The headaches were getting bad if the pain was enough to keep him out for over eight hours. 

He shook his head and tried to clear it. He bolted from the bed and grabbed the shield from the chair next to his bed. 

He pressed his back against the wall of the apartment, ears straining to hear the slightest noise. He heard the sounds of glass skittering across his living room floor and he snuck down the hallway, peaking his head around the corner. 

His stance relaxed as he took in the figure leaning against one of his chairs. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised. 

“I don’t remember giving you a key.” He said dryly. 

“You really think I’d need one?” Fury grunt. “My wife kicked me out.” 

And just like that, Steve’s senses went into overdrive again. Fury never shared. Something was wrong. “I didn’t know you were married . . .” 

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Fury nodded. 

Steve moved to turn the lights on, wondering why Fury hadn’t done it yet. "I know, Nick. That’s kinda the problem.” Steve froze as he looked Fury over. The man was covered in blood and looked worse for wear. Steve’s eyes widened and instinctively he glanced up at his ceiling, training his ears for any sounds in your apartment. Just what had Fury dragged to his door? 

Fury flipped the lights off and drew Steve’s attention, warning him not to say anything. He held out his phone. ‘Ears everywhere’. Steve read. 

Steve stifled a frustrated growl. SHIELD had him bugged now? The desire to punch something coursed through his veins. They probably had you bugged too. After everything you’d been through and after everything you’d done for them, they couldn’t just leave you alone? They had him. What more could they want?! 

“I’m sorry to have to do this.” Fury continued as he turned back to typing on his phone. “But I had nowhere else to crash.” Fury turned the phone back to Steve. ‘SHIELD compromised.’ 

Steve’s heart started beating overtime. "Who else knows about your wife?” He asked, continuing the ruse. Fury seemed to understand what Steve was really asking. ‘Who else knows about MY wife?’ 

“Just my friends.” Fury responded, pushing up from the chair and stepping towards Steve. 

Steve glanced at the phone. ‘Handful of agents I trust with my life.’ 

“Is that what we are? Friends?” Steve bit out. He’d been running around like a fool for the past year cleaning up all of Fury’s messes, trusting that Fury would have your back if Steve couldn’t and the man couldn’t even do that much. You were in just as much danger now as you had been when you’d slipped into Russia during the Cold War except this time, you weren’t able to protect yourself. 

Steve needed to get to you and get you out and he needed to find a way to contact Nat. They were done here. 

Fury recognized the ire in Steve’s voice and bowed his head, accepting the man’s anger. There were more forces at play than Steve realized, but he could recognize that he’d made a few mistakes along the way. Though Steve didn’t know it, Fury had done his best to protect you from the start. He wouldn’t have brought any of this to your doorstep if he wasn’t desperate. 

“That’s up to you.” Fury responded to Steve’s question. 

Before Steve could decide one way or the other, shots fired into the apartment, hitting Fury directly in the chest. 

Instinctively, Steve raised the shield. As soon as Fury collapsed to the ground, years of war training had Steve wrapping his hand around Fury’s and dragging him to safety. 

Steve glanced up and saw something glint through the window. He moved to give chase but Fury grabbed his arm in a surprisingly firm grip. “Don’t trust anyone.” He groaned, holding something out to Steve. 

Steve glanced down and saw the drive Nat had stolen from the Batroc mission. He gripped it in his hands. 

His front door slammed open and he threw himself against another wall, shield raised. 

“Rogers?” Nat called, gun raised as she slipped into the apartment. Another woman cloaked in shadows was right behind him. 

“Kate?” He managed to ask. 

“Agent 13.” She responded, holstering her weapon as she drew closer and saw Fury lying on the ground. She rushed to his side. “SHIELD special services.” 

“Of course.” Steve murmured. He compartmentalized that as he glanced out the window again. 

He saw movement and didn’t hesitate to channel all his frustration into it as he raced towards the window. 

“Steve!” Nat yelled as he broke out of the window and launched himself across the street. 

He ignored her as he pursued the gunman. The man had gotten too damn close to you. He needed to be eliminated. End of story. 

Steve ran through doors, hardly slowing down as he used his shield to blast them open. He bounced off walls and crashed through windows. Above him, through the skylights of the office building he’d found himself in, a man was racing across the roof. 

Steve saw him jump from the room and roll. Steve jumped through a window after him. 

Without another thought, he tossed his shield at the man with as much force as he could muster. 

At the last possible second, the man spun around and caught the shield like it was nothing. Steve’s eyes had just enough time to widen before the man reared back and tossed the shield back at Steve. Steve barely managed to catch the shield as it barreled into him, and the force behind it sent Steve skidding back a few feet. 

By the time he glanced back up, the man was gone. 

Steve’s heart beat furiously as he raced to the edge of the roof and glanced down. They were easily fifteen stories up, and there was no sign of the man who’d just tossed the shield harder than Steve ever had. 

Something was very, very wrong. 

Natasha paced around the waiting room outside the windowed operating room as she and Steve watched the doctors scramble to save Fury’s life. “What happened?” She asked. 

“I don’t know.” Steve said, staring at the unconscious man. 

He’d barely had enough time to make it back to the apartment and check that you were safely asleep in your bed before he’d been carted off and made to file report after report about the incident. Too many questions were circling in his mind and none of them had any answers. He suddenly felt like the whole world was against him. 

He kept circling back to one thing; “Don’t trust anyone.” 

Steve glanced at Natasha out of the corner of his eye and slipped his hands into his pocket, looking for the device Fury had given him. The one she had stolen. 

He needed to get back to you and the two of you needed to disappear for a little while. At least until he could make sense of everything. 

“He’s in V-tach!” Someone in the operating room cried. Everything was suddenly a flurry of motion as Fury’s heartrate started dropping. 

“Don’t do this to me Nick.” Steve heard Nat whisper. 

He hung his head, his hand slipping out of his pocket. Just him and you. 

Steve and Nat both looked on as the doctors tried to shock Fury’s heart back into rhythm. 

It was a losing battle. 

One of the doctors glanced up at the window and shook his head. Steve sighed and walked out of the room just as the doctors called it. 

He leaned against the way just outside the room and waited for Natasha. He may not have been on the best terms with her, but she was still his family. He would do everything he could to help her through her grief. 

“Why was Fury in your apartment?” She asked, stepping quickly out. 

Steve did his best to fake an innocent expression. “I don’t know.” He said, raising his hands in gesture of confusion. 

“You’re a terrible liar.” Natasha accused bluntly. 

Steve didn’t respond. 

Natasha scoffed. “Guess you were wrong. Family doesn’t mean what you said it did.” She said, throwing his own words back in his face as she turned on her heel and walked away. 

Steve took a single step towards her but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

He turned to find Rumlow standing there. “They want you back at headquarters.” He said. 

“Yeah.” Steve said, glancing at Nat’s retreating back. “Alright.” 

Rumlow nodded and walked back to the rest of the STRIKE team. 

Fury’s voice circled back to him for the millionth time. “Don’t trust anyone.” 

Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out the drive. He glanced at the vending machine next to him and made a risky move. But what other option did he have? 

He couldn’t trust anyone. Not even Nat. 

Maybe especially not Nat. 

Nat stood in one of the hospital conference rooms. The drive she’d just pilfered from the vending machine was burning hot in her hand as she turned it over and over. 

Steve had lied to her. 

She didn’t know how she felt about that. 

True, she’d lied to him first. Still though. It hurt more than she’d expected it to. 

The door open, and the drive disappeared into her pocket as Sharon walked in. You were right behind the agent. You were furiously tapping out a beat on your thigh as you glanced around apprehensively. Nat didn’t hesitate to draw you close and wrap her arms around you. 

You held the spy tight in your arms. 

“Did you get it?” Nat asked. 

Sharon nodded and pulled a bag off her shoulders, handing it to Nat. 

“You sure about this?” She asked. “I . . .” 

Sharon’s words were cut off as you suddenly dropped to the floor. Electricity crackled across your back and you groaned as you spasmed. 

“That answer your question?” Natasha asked, hands fluttering nervously over you, without touching you as you continued spasming. “What the hell are you up to, Dedushka?” She murmured. 

Just as soon as it started, the electricity cut off and you sucked in heaving breaths of air. 

Natasha rolled you onto your back only seconds before another burst of electricity shot across your stomach. 

“Damnit!” She bit out. 

Sharon glanced from your body to Nat and quickly shoved the bag in Nat’s hands. “I’ll see what I can figure out!” She called, racing from the room. 

“Come on, Steve.” Nat murmured. “Wrap it up.” 

The electricity cut off and for a few seconds Nat thought everything would be okay. 

Then, your eyes widened and a breathless gasp left your lips only seconds before your entire body jerked liked it had been hit with something big and your eyes fluttered closed. A trickle of blood trailed down your temple and the entire right side of your body had a giant bruise already forming. 

“Oh, Babushka.” Nat whispered gently, brushing your face as you started to regain consciousness. “What did he do to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. To sum up. SHIELD is HYDRA. Steve is wanted. Fury's dead. Babushka's hurt. Bucky's back! (Kinda). Nat's good! (Maybe?) And Kate was Sharon the whole time.
> 
> Cool, cool, cool, cool.
> 
> That ending though. ;) Thought it would be fun to get a closer look at the soulmate bond that Steve and Reader have. Remember what Nat said back in chapter two? "I cut you, she bleeds." 
> 
> Steve should really try to be more careful when fighting traitors.
> 
> Anywaaaaay, as always, lemme know what you're thinking! And thanks for reading!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	10. Team Rogers

Nat spotted Steve the second he stepped into the hospital and she rolled her eyes. If he thought for a second he was fooling anyone in his ridiculous get-up he was going to be sadly mistaken. 

She followed him as he subtly tried to move through the halls, looking for the vending machine he’d stashed the drive in. 

He glanced over the machine, panic rising in him when he saw it was missing. 

Natasha blew a bubble of gum as she stepped up behind him. “Looking for something?” 

Steve spun around and grabbed her arms, shoving her quickly into the empty room next to them. He pinned her to the wall. “Where is it?” He demanded. 

“It’s safe.” Nat responded, staring up at him. She wasn’t afraid. She knew she could get out of his hold anytime she liked, his inhuman strength be damned. But it was alarming to see him so . . . unhinged. 

“Do better.” He demanded, darkly. 

“Where’d you get it?” Nat countered easily. 

“Why would I tell you?” Steve asked. “Huh?” 

Natasha felt a little piece of herself shrivel. But she held herself firm as she looked at him pointedly. “Isn’t that what family does?” 

“Yeah. Cuz you’ve been so willing to be family since we first met. Hell, it took you two years to even tell me what you were to me.” 

“I had my reasons.” 

“Stop. Lying!” Steve yelled, shaking her slightly. 

Nat’s eyes widened and for the first time since she’d met the man she could see something threatening in his gaze. Whatever had happened at HQ had rattled him. He was barely keeping it together. 

“I only act like I know everything, Dedushka.” She said, trying to soothe Steves anger by reminding him who he was to her. 

“Hmm. I bet you knew that Fury hired those pirates.” He bit out. 

“It . . . makes sense.” Natasha reasoned. “He needed to get us there so I could get the intel . . .” 

“I’m not going to ask you again.” Steve said, shoving her further against the wall. 

“Natalia?” A voice called from the doorway. 

Steve spun around and saw you standing in the doorway. Dark bags lined your eyes and blood still stained your shirt where your head wound had bled onto it. Your hand was tapping away at your thigh as you stared wide eyed at the scene before you. Steve could see the fear in your eyes and he immediately dropped Nat and turned to take a step towards you. 

You were trembling as you took an immediate step backwards and Steve froze at the look of pure terror directed his way. 

“It’s okay, Babushka.” Nat soothed, slipping past Steve and moving to wrap her arms around you. “I’m okay. See? We were just having a friendly chat.” 

You clung to the spy, although your terrified gaze never left Steve’s face. 

“What did you do to her?” He asked. Unable to see the fear in your eyes, his attention had turned to the bloodstain on your shirt. 

“You mean, what did YOU do to her?” Natasha asked calmly, turning the tables on him. “You’re connected, remember? Your soulmate bond? I cut you, she bleeds, Rogers. What the hell did you get yourself into?” 

Steve’s eyes widened as he remembered the elevator fight. He’d taken more than a few hits. And then . . . Shit. Steve closed his eyes as he remembered his five-story free fall. 

“Is she okay?” He asked. “Are you okay?” He turned to you. 

As Natasha murmured soothing things in Russian into your ear, the terror on your face eased and you nodded slowly. 

He gave you another glance over but didn’t see any worse wounds. He let out a relieved breath. 

“Where do we go from here?” He asked, glancing at the spy. 

“I know who killed Fury.” She said. 

Steve took a threatening step towards her. Nat was quick to elaborate. 

“Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists. The ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He’s credited with over two dozen assassination's over the past fifty years, but I’d be willing to bet the actual numbers are a lot higher than that.” 

“So he’s a ghost story.” 

“If ghosts are real.” 

Steve shook his head. He wasn’t buying it. 

“I’ve seen him.” Nat argued. 

“Yeah. I’ll just take your word for it.” 

“Those wounds Fury had? I’d seen them before.” Nat raised her shirt quickly and showed Steve a clearly defined scar. 

She held you slightly behind her as she stepped towards Steve. “You want to know what happened to Fury? This is your best bet. Going after him directly is a dead end. I know. I’ve tried.” Nat held up the drive. “Like you said, he’s a ghost story.” 

Steve took the drive out of her fingers and nodded. “I don’t trust you anymore.” He said quietly, glancing at the disk. 

Nat didn’t let it show how much that cut her to her core. Instead, she squeezed your hand and nodded. “Probably a good idea.” 

Steve nodded wearily before glancing back up at you. “Where’s your ‘friend’, ‘Kate’?” He asked. “We need her to watch . . .” 

Nat cut him off. “Babushka comes with us.” 

Steve’s eyes filled with anger and he opened his mouth to argue with her but she didn’t give him the chance. 

“You don’t think they know about your connection, huh? It’s plastered all over both your files. You leave her anywhere and they will find her and then they’ll do anything it takes to bait you into coming back in. You willing to take that chance?” 

Steve stared back at her without blinking. 

“She comes with us. It’s the only way I can be sure she’s safe.” Nat finished. 

Steve bit back his scoff. He held a hand out to you and glanced at where you were peaking at him from over Nat’s shoulder. He waited with baited breath to see if you’d come to him or if he’d scared you off. You watched him for a long minute before you hesitantly reached out a hand and placed it in his. He pulled you forward and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, holding you tightly to his side. 

“We do whatever it takes to protect her.” He said, looking at Nat pointedly. 

Nat’s eyes were trained on your face, looking for something. She saw the hint of something brewing in the confusion on your face and her eyes snapped up to Steve’s face. “Whatever it takes.” She agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, sorry! There just wasn't a better way to break it up.
> 
> Steve and Nat are on such shaky ground with each other right now. They both have their reasons for doing what they do, but it would be helpful if they felt inclined to share those. 
> 
> For now though, Steve doesn't know he knows, but he knows something is up with Natasha and Babushka. He's definitely beginning to recognize that he shouldn't leave Babushka alone with Nat.
> 
> And poor you! Steve really scared you just now. If you could remember back far enough, you'd know you'd NEVER seen him this pissed off before. It's kinda chilling watching it, frankly. Gotta wonder how long it will take him to fix that mess-up.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	11. Undercover

Nat slid her elbow through yours as she pulled you through the mall. Steve was walking besides the two of you with his head bent low. “Babushka.” Nat said, catching your attention. You glanced at the woman. “Remember the time you had to pretend to be the Senator’s escort?” She asked. 

Steve nearly tripped over his own feet. “She had to WHAT?!” He hissed under his breath, ears turning a brilliant scarlet. 

You ignored your soulmate as you nodded seriously at Nat. 

“This is going to be like that. Can you do that for me Babushka?” She asked. 

A coy grin suddenly coated your lips and you started twirling a piece of hair around your fingers. Your walk took on a seductive sway as you gripped Nat’s arm and laughed coquettishly while making eyes at Steve. 

Steve nearly had a heart attack. 

His eyes were practically bulging out of his head as he glanced from you to Natasha and back again. 

“Smile and laugh, Rogers. Smile and laugh.” Natasha murmured. 

Steve laughed awkwardly and Natasha rolled her eyes. You winked at Steve and blew him a kiss that made it difficult for him to breathe. 

“At least someone knows what they’re doing.” Nat grouched, pulling you into an Apple Store. 

“Cover me.” She whispered to you. 

You spun around and threw yourself into Steve’s arms, dragging him closer to you as Nat bent over one of the laptop models. You rubbed your hands over his chest and smiled at him suggestively. “Maybe after this we should go watch a movie. Ya know. Somewhere . . . private?” 

Steve slipped his arms around your waist, more to trapped your hands against his chest to stop them from feeling him up and less because he was interested in showing you what he thought of that particular suggestion. “That sounds . . . nice.” He said. 

Natasha rolled her eyes at his abysmal acting. “Flirt back, Rogers.” 

Steve sighed. “Or maybe we could ditch . . . Alena here right now and go do . . . that.” 

You laughed and bent up to whisper something in his ear. 

“Can I help you guys with anything?” A voice suddenly chimed in. 

You shifted so you were looking at the computer next to Nat. The transition was so flawless, Nat felt a sense of pride welling up in her. She angled her own computer away from the sales rep. 

“Oh. Well, my finance here was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations.” You said, pulling Steve forward to help block Nat’s body. You wrapped your arms around his waist from behind. 

“Right. Yes. We’re . . . getting married.” 

“Congratulations! Where are you guys thinking about getting married?” 

Memories of your actual wedding floated through Steve’s mind and a genuine smile lit up his face at the fleeting thought. He opened his mouth to respond, but you beat him to it. 

“Haven’t figured that out yet, big guy. Got any suggestions?” You sent a disarming smile the rep’s way that had Steve clenching his fists in jealousy. 

Lucky for the rep, his smile was nothing but friendly when he returned it. “I’ve always been partial to the Florida Keys myself.” He said. 

You oohed and aahed. “Doesn’t that sound nice, baby?” You asked, slipping a hand up to masssage Steve’s chest again. 

He let out a painfully nervous laugh as he caught your hand and wrapped it around his waist again. “Sounds great!” 

“Well, if you guys need any help with anything else, just let me know. I’ve been Aaron.” Aaron said, holding up his nametag. 

“Will do, sweetie. Thank you!” You called. 

Steve spun back around and ignored your pout when he captured your hands in his and held them in front of him. 

“Can you try to flirt a little better? I thought you two were married.” Natasha grunted, still working on the device. 

“This isn’t her, Nat.” Steve glanced you over. “It feels wrong.” He admitted. 

Nat ignored him as she finally narrowed down a location on the screen. Steve squinted as he glanced at the address. 

“What?” Nat asked. “You know it?” 

“I used to.” Steve said angrily. “Let’s go.” 

Steve wrapped an arm around your shoulders as he left the store. 

“Standard tag team.” He warned, spotting Rumlow’s team. 

“Shut up, head down. Laugh at something she said.” Nat responded. 

“What?” Steve asked. 

“Do it!” Nat ordered. 

Steve laughed and you smiled, though you also kept your gaze low to the ground. 

Nat kept close behind the two of you, letting you shield her from any prying gazes. “Escalator. Let’s go.” 

Nat threaded her arm through your elbow. “Come on!” She said playfully, pulling you from Steve’s grasp. You giggled as you chased after her. Steve right on your tail. 

The three of you huddled on the escalator until Steve saw Rumlow headed right towards him. 

Nat nudged you and somehow you knew exactly what she wanted you to do. You spun around to face Steve. “Kiss me.” You whispered. 

“W . . . what?!” He demanded. 

“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.” Natasha explained hurriedly. 

“Yes. They do.” Steve agreed, narrowing his eyes at her. 

You surged forward and took Steve’s face in your hands, pulling him forward and claiming his lips with yours in a passionate embrace. 

For a brief second, Steve forgot the danger he was in. He forgot how the world was falling apart at the seams. He forgot everything except the feel of you underneath him and the smell of the perfume that was distinctly you. His arms wrapped around your waist and he pulled you tight against him, devouring you like a man starved. 

A throat clearing broke him from the trance. 

You giggled huskily as you pulled away and stepped off the escalator just behind Natasha. “Is this what it’s like to watch your parents make out? That’s one childhood experience I’m glad to have missed out on.” The spy grumbled. 

“Happy to help.” Steve whispered, dazed. 

“Come on.” Nat said, once again linking her arm through yours and dragging you out towards the parking lot. 

The three of you sat in the car Steve had hotwired, on your way to Jersey. You’d dropped the flirty school-girl act as soon as you’d gotten into the car but Steve hadn’t been able to think about much since. You’d truly led an entire life while he’d been gone. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been around, how things might have been different for you. 

Natasha had been brooding for the last twenty minutes, but finally, she decided to break the silence. “Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?” She asked. 

Steve shifted awkwardly in his seat. “Nazi Germany.” He said. 

Nat hummed approvingly. 

“Didn’t think your old man could be so cool, did you?” Steve asked, trying to lighten the mood. 

Nat laughed. “I might have. Before he said that.” 

Steve chuckled and glanced at you in the rearview mirror. You had a troubled look on your face as you bit your lip. You were picking at your hands in your lap. 

Nat caught the direction of his stare and decided to take his mind of it. “I have a question for you. You don’t have to answer it but . . .” 

“What?” Steve asked wearily. 

“Was that the first time the two of you have kissed since 1945?” 

Steve blushed. 

“Are you serious?” Nat asked, sitting upright. “You’ve been together for two years.” 

Steve glanced back at you, but you seemed to be completely tuning out the conversation as your brows furrowed deeper. “I told you . . . Nat. She’s . . . not the same. It feels like I’m taking advantage of her.” 

“You’re soulmates.” She said. 

“She doesn’t remember me, Nat.” Steve said firmly, glancing at the spy. Natasha eyed him and he sighed. He didn’t have to explain himself but he felt like he needed to. 

“We first met before the serum. I was just a scrawny guy from Brooklyn with no real future. You know, her family disowned her for marrying me? Said it was a dumb decision. Said I’d leave her a widow before she had a chance to be a bride, but she didn’t care. We were happy together. I miss her more than you could possibly imagine, and yeah. She’s here. I can hold her in my arms and we could do everything we used to do, but it’s not the same. If she doesn’t remember me, she doesn’t remember what I mean to her. I’m not going to try to force it.” 

Nat was silent for a long minute while she thought that over. “What happens if she never remembers you?” She asked, finally. 

Steve glanced back at you. “If she never remembers?” He shrugged. “I’ll remember for the both of us. Anything she offers, I’ll take. But I’m not gonna force it. I love her too much to take advantage of her.” 

A sense of melancholy washed through the car and for once Nat felt guilty forcing information out of someone. She sighed and decided to do the only thing she could to distract from it. She reached into the bag she’d left on the floor of the car and pulled a gun out of it. 

Steve eyed her wearily from the drivers seat as she disassembled it and reassembled it in record time. 

“Babushka.” She called, giving it one more once over. She flicked the safety on. 

You glanced at Nat from the backseat. “Here.” Nat said, leaning back and depositing the gun in your open hands. 

“What the hell?!” Steve demanded, swerving on the road. 

Nat shrugged a shoulder like nothing had happened. 

“Doll. Give me that.” Steve said, reaching a hand back. 

You didn’t move. 

Nat grabbed Steve’s arm and yanked it forward. “Keep the gun, Babushka. You remember how it works?” She asked, glancing back at you. Steve glanced at you in the mirror as you stared at the gun lying flat across both your hands. You nodded once. 

“Anyone but Steve or I try to take you, you shoot. Okay?” 

You nodded again. 

“What the hell?!” Steve repeated, glaring at the spy. 

Natasha shot him a look. “She’s more than she seems Steve. Just because she doesn’t seem like a soldier doesn’t mean she’s not one at heart. Trust me.” 

Steve shook out his shoulders as he turned back to the road. “It’s getting harder and harder to.” He said glancing at you one last time. You were back to staring out the window, the gun lying forgotten in your hands. 

“She’ll be safe.” Natasha said. “She’s better with a gun than I am and in her heyday? She could outshoot Clint.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Steve murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are haaaaaappppeeeeniiiiiiing.
> 
> Readers not the innocent Damsel in Distress Steve likes to think she is. More on that soon.
> 
> Any theories? Guesses? Favorite Moments? Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	12. Familiar Faces

Steve pulled up just outside of Camp Lehigh. The three of you got out of the car. 

“The file came from these coordinates.” Nat said. 

Steve adjusted the grip on his shield. “So did I.” He muttered darkly. He didn’t like where this was headed. 

Steve walked up to the chained fence and brought the edge of his shield down hard against the giant padlock. The lock gave away instantly and Steve opened the gates and slipped through. 

He didn’t notice the way something dark shifted in your eyes as they traced over the letters that spelled out the camp’s name. 

Natasha glanced from you to the sign and back again. Her lips pursed but she didn’t say anything as she gently took your hand in hers and pulled you through the gates following Steve. 

The three of you entered the decrepit building. Everything was absolutely covered in dust. Natasha flicked on the lights and three sets of eyes were drawn to a painted symbol on the far wall. 

Neither Steve nor Natasha noticed as your eyes narrowed at the symbol. You shook your head a few times as though trying to clear it. Your eyebrows furrowing. 

“This is SHIELD.” Natasha murmured. 

“Maybe where it started.” Steve agreed. Glancing back at you. He wondered how much say you’d had in the early days. You’d mentioned once a long time ago that you and Peggy had dreamt up SHIELD together. But he knew you’d been in Russia when Peggy had made your shared dream a reality. 

You were glancing around the room with a strange look on your face. 

He walked back to you and took your hand in his. “Come on, doll.” He murmured, leading you on. 

The three of you entered a room. 

Nat pointed to three pictures hanging crooked on the wall. 

“Starks father?” She asked, pointing at the male in the middle. 

Steve nodded. “Howard. Yeah.” He glanced at the pictures of Howard Stark and Peggy Carter. Then his eyes were drawn to the third photo. You posed with a slight smile on your face. The one that said you knew something the rest of the world didn’t. Your hair was done up in the style of the time and you were wearing a uniform similar to Peggy’s. 

He squeezed your hand and glanced back at you as you took in the photo. Something flickered across your face as you looked over the pictures, but it was gone too fast for Steve to identify it. 

“Who’s the girl?” Nat asked. 

Steve shook his head and moved away. He didn’t hear it when you turned to Nat and whispered. “Peggy Carter.” As you shook your head again. Nat glanced sharply in the direction of Steve and let out a relieved sigh that he didn’t seem to be paying attention. 

“Come on, Babushka.” She said gently, taking your hand in yours. 

Steve was busy studying a random shelf. 

“What’s wrong?” Nat asked him. 

“If you’re already working in a secret office . . . why do you need to hide the elevator?” He asked, grabbing the shelf and pulling it aside. 

Nat and Steve exchanged glances before they both headed for the machine, dragging you with them. Your free hand started tapping a furious pattern against your thigh as the doors slid shut and the three of you descended. 

The doors opened up into almost complete darkness as the three of you slid out of the elevators. Steve and Natasha took the lead, stepping into the room. You fell behind as the spy and the soldier stepped further into space and started glancing at the myriad of outdated technology, still furiously working away. 

Behind them, you drew the gun Natasha had tucked into the back of your pants. You held it down at your side, finger on the trigger, thumb on the safety as you glanced around. Something wasn’t right here. You could sense it. 

As Nat and Steve drew closer to the center of the room, the lights flickered on. Your eyes furiously scanned every inch of the room, looking for something. 

“This can’t be the data point.” Nat argued, running her fingers over some of the equipment. “This technology is ancient.” 

Steve glared at her as she smirked. “Anyone ever tell you, you should respect your elders?” 

Nat smiled at him lovingly and glanced away. 

A single object drew her attention. A sleek black box with USB ports. 

She tapped on the device in her pocket and pulled it out. She paused for only a second as she thought it through and then she gently slid the device into one of the ports. 

Immediately, the room came to life. Several more machines activated and the lights switched on, revealing that the room was so much larger than they had originally noticed. 

You spun on your heels, taking everything in, gun still at your side, free hand tapping even faster against your thigh. 

In front of Steve and Natasha, a computer switched on. 

“Initiate system?” It spelled out. 

Natasha bent down and typed out “Yes.” 

She smirked as the system booted up. “Shall we play a game?” She asked. 

She turned to Steve who was adjusting his grip on the shield. “It’s from a movie.” She said. “It’s . .” 

“I know.” Steve cut her off. “I saw it.” 

The smile slipped off Nat’s face and she turned back to the computer. 

The two of them watched as a pixilated face slowly filled in on the screen. You crept up behind them, head cocked, brows furrowed. 

“Rogers, Steven. Born 1918.” The computer began speaking. “Romanov, Natalia. Born 1984.” 

“It’s some kind of recording.” Natasha murmured, clearly perturbed. 

The computer stated your name next. “Born 1919. Married Rogers, Steven in 1940.” 

“Turn it off.” Steve muttered. 

Natasha reached for the power button but the computer stopped her. 

“I’m not a recording, fraeulein.” It said. “I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am . . . alive.” 

A picture popped up on the screen that made you and Steve gasp at the same moment. Nat glanced at Steve and gestured to the picture. “You know this thing?” 

“Armin Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull.” Steve responded as he moved around the computer system, looking for the magic trick. “He’s been dead for years.” 

The computer took immediate offense to that. “First of all. I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive.” The computer chuckled. “You may have slipped into the night in 1945, Captain. But the rest of us lived on. In 1972 I was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Science, it would seem, could not save my body. But my mind . . . well my mind was worth saving. You are standing in the middle of my new brain saved on hundreds of thousands of databanks.” 

Your eyes were wide now as you glanced around the room. Something was prodding just at the edge of your mind. You squeezed your eyes shut and drew both hands up, pressing them against your temples as you struggled to think. 

Completely oblivious to your condition, Steve and Nat continued to interrogate the computer. 

“HYDRA died with the Red Skull. So, what are you doing here?” 

“Cut one head off, two more will take its place.” Zola said. “I came to America on invitation from your president.” 

Steve glanced at Natasha who was shaking her head. “Operation paperclip . . . after the war, a number of German scientists believed to have strategic value were brought here and hired to work for the American government.” 

“And work we did. We worked hard to build HYDRA up from the ground.” Zola cackled. “The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside the heart of SHIELD.” 

Images flashed on the screen and Steve and Nat watched on in horror. “For seventy years, HYDRA has secretly been reaping the benefits of war, feeding crisis's, and eliminating anyone who got in the way.” 

A picture of the Winter Soldier appeared on screen. Steve tensed at the familiar man, still remembering their encounter on the roof the night Fury died. 

“That’s impossible.” Nat uttered, stepping closer. “SHIELD would have known. They would have stopped you.” 

Zola tsked. “Accidents happen, fraeulein.” 

An image of an article written on Howard Starks death appeared before quickly being replaced by Nick Fury’s file with the words “DECEASED” clearly stamped across it. 

Natasha sucked in a deep breath as Zola continued his rant. 

Behind her, your hands dropped from your head and you spun on your heel, glancing back towards the elevators. Your brow was furrowed in deep concentration as you listened for something. 

“We won, Captain.” Zola claimed gleefully. “Your death amounts to the same as your life. A zero sum!” 

Steve moved to hit the computer but a shot rang through the air, freezing both him and Nat in their tracks. 

They spun around and glanced at you. The smoking gun was still raised in the air as you pointed it steadily at the smoking monitor. A dark look was plastered across your face as you sucked in heaving breaths of air. 

“Babushka?” Nat asked hesitantly, stepping towards you. 

The elevators behind you started sliding shut. Steve threw his shield in an attempt to jam them open. He was a fraction of a second too slow. 

He caught it as it bounced back to him. 

You cocked your head and your eyes widened again. “Missile.” You murmured, tucking the gun quickly back into your pants and glancing around the room. 

Nat scrambled for her phone. “She’s right. We got a bogey. Short-range ballistic. Thirty seconds tops.” 

You had wrenched a grate under your feet up. “Natalia!” You ordered, pointing down. 

Nat ran forward and threw herself into the small space. You climbed in behind her. Steve jumped in behind the two of you and raised his shield above his head blocking the three of you as best he could right before all hell broke loose. 

It seemed like hours, but maybe it was just minutes that it took for the building to cave in on itself. The silence that echoed around the space after seemed almost eerie in comparison to the hell that had been unleashed. 

Steve grunted as he thrust his weight up, throwing the debris off of your hiding place. 

He pushed himself out of the space and looked back fearfully. 

You and Natasha coughed as you both inhaled the dirt and smoke swirling through the air. He reached down and grabbed your hand, pulling you up. He winced at the searing pain that crossed his ribs at the simple action. 

He saw blood starting to bloom across your side and went to pull up your shirt to look at your injury but you brushed his hands aside and reached back to pull Natasha up. 

He glanced at his own side and saw the jagged cut where something had sliced cleanly through his shirt. 

You pulled Natasha up and slung her arm over your shoulder. The spy was breathing heavily and looked dazed. 

Steve opened his mouth to say something. To apologize or maybe to ask how you’d known, but words failed him. 

Instead he held his shield out to you and gently swung Natasha up in his arms bridal style. 

“We need to move.” You whispered urgently. 

Steve glanced at you once before he heard them. The roar of aircraft drawing closer. 

“Go!” He called, breaking into a run. 

You trailed behind him, keeping the shield raised high on your back, shielding the three of you as best as you could. 

Steve glanced back once or twice to make sure you were following, but otherwise kept his fast pace as he raced for cover. You raced into the woods just behind the base and he gently settled Nat on the ground as you caught up. 

You were barely breathing heavily as you quickly handed the shield off to him. 

“We need somewhere to go.” You murmured, tucking Nat’s hair behind her ears. 

Steve watched as several bodies jumped out of the helicopters and he squared his shoulders angrily as he made out his old STRIKE team. 

“I know a place.” He said, turning back to you. 

You bent over Natasha’s body and muttered something to the spy in Russian. Nat’s eyes fluttered open. 

“I’m good.” She whispered to you. 

You glanced at her skeptically but nodded. "Where are we going, then?” You asked, pulling the gun from your pants and pulling the clip out. You glanced the clip over, counting your bullets though you knew you’d only fired one. Then you gave the gun a quick glance over before you slid the clip back into place with a quiet click. 

When Steve didn’t answer you right away, you glanced up. 

He had an unreadable expression on his face as he watched you but something in your expression seemed to shake him from his thoughts. 

“A friend’s.” He said simply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeeessssss Reader! Yeeeeeessssssss!!! 
> 
> Okay. This chapter turned out to be so much fun to write, but since the beginning I've been racing as fast as I could to get us to the one that's coming next.
> 
> I know there's been a lot of angst, but I hope you're still enjoying it! Thanks for reading guys!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story. It will be updated as more information is revealed.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. (Present Day).


	13. All Coming Back

Steve knocked on the door, doing his best not to look too suspicious and failing miserably. He just hoped this was the right address. 

It didn’t take long for the door to swing open and for Sam Wilson to appear. A look of confusion crossed his face as he took in the battered appearance of the three of you. “Hey man.” He said hesitantly. 

“I’m really sorry about this.” Steve started. “But we need a place to lay low.” 

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.” Natasha added helpfully. 

Sam’s eyes widened slightly but it took him only a second to make up his mind. “Not everyone.” He said kindly, gesturing into the house. 

Nat limped into the house. Steve made to follow but reached back to grab your hand when he noticed you weren’t. 

Sam watched the interaction curiously, but didn’t say anything. 

He shut his door and locked it. He shut his blinds for good measure before he followed the three of you into the kitchen. 

“No offense, but you three look like hell.” Sam said gently. He pointed down a hallway. “There’s a guest room just down there with towels and a bathroom. Feel free to use it.” 

Nat and Steve glanced at each other before Steve gestured towards you with his head. Nat nodded. “Come on, Babushka. Let’s get cleaned up.” 

The spy led you away as you shot a tired smile in Sam’s direction. 

As soon as the two of you were out of sight, Sam turned to Steve. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?” He seemed to rethink his words as he crossed his arms. “If you can, that is. I get it if it’s some kind of top secret Avengers business.” 

Steve shook his head and leaned against Sam’s kitchen counter. “No. It’s nothing like that.” He said wearily. 

“You look like you could use a shower too.” Sam said, taking in the weary look. He’d been there before. He knew what Steve needed. “Take my room. Upstairs. First door on the right. We can talk when you’re done.” He offered. 

Steve smiled gratefully and slapped Sam’s shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah. I’ll do that. Thanks man.” 

Sam had been right. Steve felt better after the shower. Still not ready to go deal with what he knew he needed to deal with, but at least he felt less chaotic. 

He walked back downstairs and quickly noted that the door to the room you and Nat had disappeared into was still closed. 

“Smells great!” He called, walking back into the kitchen. 

“Yeah?” Sam asked, sliding a plate of Pancakes over to Steve. “I didn’t know what hundred year old super-soldiers ate. Glad to see you like pancakes like the rest of us.” 

Steve chuckled and gratefully dug into the breakfast. “I’m only ninety-five. Thanks.” 

Sam chuckled. “Only.” He said. 

Steve ate in silence for a minute while Sam flipped a few more pancakes. 

“Thanks for taking us.” Steve said suddenly. 

Sam waved a hand off. “A ninety-five year old war veteran and Avenger shows up at your door and I think it would be considered a sin not to let him in.” He turned back to face Steve. “Speaking of though . . . and I don’t mean to push. You say the word, man, and I’ll drop it. But . . .” 

“Why did a ninety-five year old war veteran and Avenger show up at your door?” Steve finished for him. 

Sam nodded and Steve’s smile faded slightly. 

“SHIELD is compromised.” Steve started. 

Sam’s eyebrows shot up and he folded his arms as he leaned against the stove. 

Steve nodded. “Yeah. That was my reaction too.” 

“Who was it? Russians?” Sam asked. 

“In a way.” Steve muttered, playing with his food. “HYDRA.” 

Sam’s eyebrows couldn’t go any higher at this point. “Those bastards you took out in 1945.” 

“The bastards I thought I took out in 1945.” Steve corrected. 

Sam nodded to himself for a minute as he mulled everything over. “And the beautiful red-head and your wife? This a family adventure?” 

Steve’s head shot up. “How did you . . .” 

Sam laughed. “You don’t get out much, do you? There’s a whole exhibit at the museum in town all about you, the Howling Commandos and your beautiful wife back there.” Sam gestured with his chin towards the room you were currently holed up in. “They say it’s the greatest love story ever told. From what I can tell, you guys are more popular than Romeo and Juliet.” 

Steve scoffed. “I wouldn’t say that’s a good thing.” He said sadly. 

Sam nodded sympathetically. “I guess not.” 

Sam turned back to the stove and flipped the last of the pancakes before flicking the stove off. 

“What's wrong with her?” He asked gently. 

Steve gave him a wry smile. “Can’t slip anything past you, can I?” He teased. 

Sam smiled and shook his head. “These eyes are trained for that sort of thing.” He laughed. 

Steve glanced back at your door again before looking at Sam. “Dementia.” He finally said. It was only the second or third time he’d ever mentioned the word out loud. It stabbed at his heart just as it always did. 

Sam let out a long breath. “That’s . . . rough, buddy. And how . . . ?” 

“It’s complicated.” Steve answered. 

“No offense, man. But you look like a guy that needs to unload some ‘complicated’. Sam gestured towards the living room and took a seat. Steve followed after him. “Lay it on me.” 

“We’re soulmates.” Steve started. 

Sam nodded. “I figured that part out myself.” 

Steve cracked a grin. “We met before the war. I was still a scrawny guy back then. She didn’t care. When the war came around though, I joined up. Got experimented on. It turned me into . . . this.” Steve gestured at his body. 

Sam nodded, showing he knew this part of the story. 

“What no one bothered to tell me until I came out of the ice was that they think the serum that Dr. Erskine made had an effect on the soulmate bond too.” Steve breathed your name. “She started showing the same injuries that I was getting and visa versa.” He chuckled darkly as he remembered Natasha’s words from years ago. “You cut me, she bleeds.” He said. 

Sam let out another breath. “That’s . . .” 

“Complicated?” Steve finished. “Yeah.” 

Sam was silent for a minute as he started putting the pieces together. “So your time in the ice . . . that’s why she’s so . . . “ 

“It kept her young. Or so they think. But it also deteriorated her brain. For awhile there, they thought that maybe she’d get better now that I’m out but . . .” 

“Nothing, huh?” 

Steve shook his head. “Maybe if she’d had the serum too but . . .” Steve sighed and ran a hand down his face. Finally, he admitted what he’d been thinking for a long time. “I think if she was going to get better, she would have by now.” 

Sam stood from his chair and patted Steve’s shoulder comfortingly. The man knew loss too well. There were some things you could help someone get over. Only time would help. 

The two stood that way for a long minute before Steve winced. 

“You okay, man?” Sam asked, glancing at him in concern. 

Steve reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Just a headache.” He said. 

“You need some Tylenol? Ibuprofen? Can you even take that stuff?” 

Steve nodded slowly and chuckled. “I have to take eight times the recommended dose before I start to see a difference, but yeah. I can take it. Thanks.” 

Sam moved to the kitchen and started shuffling through a cabinet near his sink. "So, if you’ve got this bad of a headache then your soulmate must have a killer one too right? If I give you pain meds, do they help her? Or how does that work?” 

The smile faded off of Steve’s face as a dozen lightbulbs suddenly clicked on above his head. 

Without a second thought, he leapt from his chair and called your name, rushing in the direction Nat had taken you. 

He burst into the room and took everything in with the sudden reflexes of a trained soldier. Sam right behind him. 

Nat had you pinned to the bed, some kind of gun pressed to your temple. You were crying in pain as you writhed underneath her, but she had a knee pinning your stomach to the mattress. 

Without a second thought, Steve reached over and yanked Nat away, flinging her across the room. Without being asked, Sam reached out and slammed the spy to the wall, keeping her pinned while Steve rushed to your side. 

“Doll? Doll?! Talk to me!” He brushed the hair out of your face as he helped you sit up. 

“It’s not what you think!” Natasha grit out across the room. 

“Shut up!” Steve roared. “Doll?” He turned back to you. 

Your hands were pressed to either side of your head and you rocked slowly back and forth, pained whimpers still slipping from your lips. 

“Doll, come on. Can you look at me? Hey, I need to see your eyes.” Steve’s gentle voice coaxed you as his hands fluttered helplessly around you. For a minute, the entire room seemed to hold its breath as your eyes opened. 

You glanced at Steve with something lost echoing in your eyes as tears streamed down your face. Steve’s heart shattered. He’d spent almost every free moment he’d had in the last two years with you and he’d never once seen you look as lost as you did now. 

“What the hell did you do to her?!” He demanded, jumping from the bed and rounding on the spy. 

Natasha ignored him and Sam entirely as she stared at you with an unreadable expression on her face. “Babushka?” She asked tentatively. 

“You don’t get to call her that! Not after what you just pulled. You . . .” A soft voice interrupted Steve’s tirade. 

“Steven Grant Rogers.” 

Steve froze in his tracks. 

“Mother was Sarah Rogers. Father was a low life.” A tired laugh that he hadn’t heard in years. “Wife who’s absolutely going to KILL him for abandoning her just as soon as the room stops spinning.” 

“Babushka!” Nat cried, easily breaking Sam’s hold on her as she raced to your side. She threw her arms around your neck and buried her face in your shoulder. 

Steve’s body seemed to have a mind of its own as he slowly turned around to face you, his soulmate, the woman he thought he’d lost forever. 

“Doll?” He whispered as he eyes met yours. 

For the first time in two years, a veil of childlike innocence didn’t stare back at him. You were here. You ducked your head and pressed a kiss to Nat’s head. You muttered something to her in Russian. She nodded slowly and fled the room, but not before everyone saw her dash away a few tears. 

“I . . . uh . . . I’ll just go keep an eye on her.” Sam said awkwardly, backing out of the room. He slowly shut the door behind him leaving you and Steve alone together. 

For a long moment Steve just stared at you. It couldn’t be real. He must be in some kind of fever dream. 

“Hi, Stevie.” You said, breaking the tense silence. Tears filled your eyes as you smiled at him. It was such a heartbreaking smile that Steve couldn’t resist the urge to gather you in his arms. He rushed to your side and sat on the side of the bed, pulling you into his arms. He crushed you to his chest and buried his face in your neck, breathing you in. He relished the feeling of your arms snaking around his broad shoulders, pulling him just as tightly to you. 

For the first time since he’d been pulled out of the ice, he was home. 

“You’re here. You’re here.” He cried. 

He felt your tears staining his shirt, but he didn’t care. You were here. You were WHOLE. 

“I’m here.” You chuckled, clinging just as hard to him. 

Steve pulled just far enough away that he could see your face. He brushed your hair away so he could look into your eyes. He could have stared into them for the rest of his life. You were HERE. 

“I’m here.” You repeated, tentatively reaching a hand out and putting it against his chest. The two of you relaxed against each other as Steve mirrored you and you both felt the beat of each other’s hearts beating almost in rhythm. 

“I think we have a lot to talk about.” Steve whispered, reaching out to stroke your face. 

You nodded slowly as bits and pieces of the last seventy years flitted through your mind. You did need to talk. You’d spent almost seventy years thinking he was dead and easily five being lost in the cloud of your own mind. “You missed a lot.” You whispered, one memory coming to the forefront of your mind as you remembered your darling daughter. 

You missed her so much. 

Steve reached out and wiped away the tears that fell down your cheeks. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you and . . . for Alena.” he whispered. 

You reached out and held his hand to your face. “She was just like you.” You whispered. “Brave to a fault. Stubbornly loyal.” You closed your eyes and smiled. “She had your eyes.” 

Steve chuckled, though it sounded strangled. You opened your eyes and saw the tears glistening in his. “I think you’re wrong, doll.” He said gently. “Sounds like she took after her mother.” 

The two of you shared a smile that had been years in the making. 

“She would have made you proud, Stevie.” You whispered, pulling both of his hands into your lap. You squeezed them tightly. 

“She did.” He said, nodding quickly. “And her daughter does too.” 

A light smile lit up your face as Nat’s face popped into mind. 

Steve tugged you closer and leaned his forehead against yours. “As proud as she’s made me, though, I think I need to hear what I just walked in on, doll. Because it sure as hell didn’t look like nothing.” 

Your gaze snapped up and in unison, your eyes followed Steve’s to the gamma gun Nat had dropped when Steve had burst into the room. You bent down to pick it up and smiled slightly when you watched Steve’s hand dart out to stop you before he managed to jerk it back to his side. 

Some things never changed. 

You turned the device over in your hands, your lips pursed. “It’s a gamma gun.” You noted out loud for Steve’s benefit. “Looks like they upgraded my design. Much more efficient.” You hefted it. “More portable too.” 

“Gamma? As in Gamma Radiation?” Steve asked, face paling slightly. He held his hand out. “Maybe you shouldn’t . . .” 

You cut him off. “That little minx.” You muttered, a smile growing on your face. “She owes me $100.” 

“Doll?” Steve asked. 

Your head shot up and you glanced at him as only just barely remembering he was still in the room. You leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Come on, lazy bones. I’ll explain it out there. Nat will probably have to fill in some of the blanks.” 

You jumped from the bed and caught yourself against the wall when your legs almost gave out underneath you. 

“Doll?!” Steve called out nervously, immediately jumping to your side. 

You waved the hand that still gripped the gamma gun. “Fine. It’s fine. Standard side-effect, I suspect.” 

Steve murmured your name in a lovingly chastening way. 

“It’s okay, Steve. I promise. Nothing to worry about.” 

“Can’t help but worry, darlin’.” Steve whispered seriously. 

You smiled sadly. “I know, soldier.” You whispered, patting his cheek. “But that’s a habit you’re gonna have to learn to break. Things are different now.” 

Steve closed his eyes and nodded his head. “I can do different.” He said. “Just as long as you’re here to walk me through it.” 

You smiled as you weaved your hand together with his. “To the end of the line, partner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D It HAPPENED baby! *Does a little jig*
> 
> Thoughts? 
> 
> A few of you guys totally guessed it. You win all the awards. 
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	14. A Lil' Bit of Science in My Life

Natasha was sitting with her legs curled up underneath her as she stared out one of the windows. Her arms were crossed over her chest. 

Sam was sitting on the sofa across from her. His elbows were braced on his knees and his hands were held together in front of his lips as he stared Nat down. His entire body was tensed as though he was waiting for Natasha to make a break for it at any moment. 

You cleared your throat. Sam and Nat both jerked to attention. 

You waved the gamma gun around the air. “Now, my head is still a little fuzzy . . .” You started. Steve made a sound of concern deep in his throat. You squeezed his hand gently. “But I seem to recall someone telling me I was a ‘fool to even considered such a harebrained scheme’.” 

You did your best to look disappointed, but you were afraid your smirk gave you away. 

Nat glanced from the gun in your hand to your face and back again. She shrugged a shoulder. “Desperate times called for desperate measures.” 

Your smile really broke across your face then and you moved to sit beside your granddaughter. You twisted towards her and bent her face down so you could kiss the top of her head. “I knew you’d figure it out my little pauk.” 

Natasha glanced back up at you with tears in her eyes. She reached out a hand and squeezed your fingers. 

“Someone want to explain what just happened?” Sam asked, glancing over at the two of you with narrowing eyes. “Not that I’m not happy to see you feeling . . . better.” He added as a side thought. 

“I’m interested in the answer to that question as well.” Steve murmured, taking a seat next to Sam as he shot an unreadable look in Natasha’s direction. 

You smiled. “Natasha and . . .” You glanced at Nat slyly. “. . . Dr. Banner if I’m not mistaken, finished my design.” You held up the gamma gun. “Worked just as well as I could have hoped.” 

“You called it a gamma gun.” Steve prompted. Glancing at the device in your hands and then at Nat with narrowing eyes. 

You glanced at Nat who took that as her cue to explain. “That’s because it is. It’s designed to shoot a concentrated burst of gamma radiation at your intended target.” 

Steve leapt to his feet, his entire countenance dark and threatening. “What?!” 

You jumped to your feet as well, putting yourself between your husband and your granddaughter. “Steve! Steve, it’s okay! I’m okay!” 

You grabbed his hands tightly and squeezed, doing your best to reassure him. 

Steve’s eyes fluttered closed and he took a few deep breaths before he slowly eased back into his seat. This time, he dragged you with him, plopping you on his lap as he wrapped his arms around your waist. You felt him press a kiss to your hair and breath you in. 

You shot an apologetic look in Nat’s direction. 

She smiled at you sadly. 

When Steve had calmed down, it was Sam who picked the conversation back up. 

“Why did you need to shoot yourself full of radiation?” He asked, carefully observing the man currently trapping you in his grasp. 

You rubbed Steve’s arm gently. “I took a few years to notice, but eventually I noticed that I wasn’t exactly aging the way normal people did.” 

Steve nodded against your head. “The soulmate bond.” He murmured. “Something changed it. Maybe when Dr. Erskine changed me.” 

You nodded and pursed your lips. “I know.” 

“What?!” Natasha exclaimed sitting upright and eyeing you suspiciously. “How do you know?” 

You laughed lightly. “I never saw the file that I assume is floating around about it. But how could I not have known, Natalia?” You asked softly. “As soon as SHIELD rescued me in 1984 and I had access to lab equipment, I started experimenting. It didn’t take long to find the changes in my DNA.” 

Steve sucked in a startled breath. “You have the serum in you?” He asked, shocked. 

You shook your head. “Not . . . not exactly. It’s more of a . . . synthetic version. It’s almost like my body, in trying to match what had happened to yours; created a chemical of its own. The only difference is that your serum works no matter what you do or where you go. Mine only works if I’m exposed to near constant radiation. Though, I suspect the consequences of that wouldn’t be worth the powers I may uncover.” 

Steve’s arms trembled as he pulled you even tighter to his body. “So you designed a gun that could have killed you . . .” His voice cracked. 

You shook your head. “I started to design the gun. We never would have used it if it was too dangerous. I . . . left . . . before it was finished. Natalia and Dr. Banner finished it. They never would have let anything happen to me.” 

Steve shook his head and glanced at Nat across the room. His voice was broken as he asked his question. “Why would you risk it?” He asked, desperate to understand her reasoning. 

Nat shook her head and rubbed her arms. “Two years ago I told you to take care of Babushka and you promised you would. But every time I brought up an option for getting her the help she needed to heal, you’d shoot it down.” 

“You went behind my back.” Steve argued. 

“You left me no choice.” Nat bit back. She glanced at you and the fight drained out of her. Her shoulders slumped and she seemed to curl in on herself. “You’re not the only one who needed her, Rogers.” She whispered. 

Your heart broke as you looked at the mirror image of your beautiful daughter break down in front of you. The mother in you couldn’t help it as you pushed out of Steve’s reluctant arms and crossed to Nat, gently taking her in your arms. 

“I’m here. I’m here now. Nothing will separate us again.” You promised her in Russian, over and over again. 

The two of you rocked together as years of hurt and worry trailed down Natasha’s wet cheeks. You wiped away the tears. 

Sam cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to be the one to interrupt whatever is happening here . . . but . . . HYDRA?” He asked. 

Your smile froze and you turned towards Sam slowly. The man gulped and leaned a little further back in his chair. 

Natasha took the reins of the conversation before you could say anything. 

“It was SHIELD who fired the ballistic strike at us when we were at Camp Lehigh. The question is, who at SHIELD would have ordered it?” 

Steve shook his head. He glanced at you with a look that said the conversation wasn’t over, but he was quick to slip into Captain mode. You loved that man. 

“Pierce.” Steve said, without hesitation. 

Natasha nodded easily. “Coincidentally the person sitting at the top of the most secure building in the world. We can’t touch him.” 

“He won’t be working alone.” You were quick to point out. “Men like him never are.” 

Your eyes lit up at the same time as Nat’s and the two of you glanced at each other. “Jasper Sitwell.” You muttered in unison. 

Your smile turned venomous. “I never liked the man.” 

Steve crossed his arms and the smallest smile graced his face as he watched the two of you interact. Seeing the parallel this close made him realize just how much of you your granddaughter had inherited. It was embarrassing how Nat had been forced to spell it out for him. 

“So, the real question is, how are two of the most wanted people in the world going to kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight.” 

You smiled deviously as you glanced at Sam. He eyed you questioningly. “You won’t.” You said simply. 

The three of them eyed you as your smile got even bigger. “Sam.” You said. “Sam Wilson. Right?” 

He nodded slowly. 

“58th pararescue unit?” 

Sam's’ eyes narrowed. “How’d you . . .” 

“You flew the EXO-7 Falcon. Didn’t you?” 

He leaned forward abruptly. Steve and Natasha’s eyes volleyed between the two of you. “How’d you know about that?” 

You shrugged a shoulder. “I may have had some design input on the wings.” 

Sam openly gawked at you before he stuttered; “YOU’RE Zero???” 

You nodded. 

He shook his head as he flung himself back in his seat. He turned to Steve. “I’m sorry to break it to you, man, but your wife is crazy.” 

Steve and Natasha glanced back at you. “What’s he talking about, Babushka?” Nat pressed gently. 

You ignored your family as you smirked at Wilson. “Come on. I know you want to.” You pressed. “I happen to know where we can get our hands on one.” 

Sam’s eyes lit up as he eyed you. “Yeah? And what would you do?” 

Your eyes brightened in excitement. “You ever hear about the EXO-6?” You asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter and nothing posted yesterday! Sorry guys! But work's a little crazy right now!
> 
> It's about to get reaaaallly fun up in here though. Babushka became a little bit of a daredevil in Steve's absence. 
> 
> Guess how he's going to react to that?
> 
> Anyway, plot questions? Thoughts? Ideas? Lemme know in the comments!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. Peggy and Reader found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - Reader goes to Russia due to Cold War rumors. Reader gives birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. Reader gets caught by Russian authorities and is tortured.  
> 1985 - Reader is rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. Natasha and Reader are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - Reader, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	15. Little Brother Protocols

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've missed you my friends!!!

You crept through Stark tower, dragging a weary Steve, Nat and Sam behind you. The three of them had baseball hat’s on and were staring at the ground, doing their best to avoid eye contact with everyone. You knew there were a number of SHIELD agents in the building and did your best to keep to the forgotten floors and hallways. 

“Why are we here again? I thought the last one was at Fort Meade.” Sam grumbled under his breath. 

You smirked. “If you think for a second Tony didn’t horde one away to study and modify, you’ve got another thing coming.” You whispered back. 

Steve shook his head. “We really shouldn’t be here, sweetheart.” He said. 

You politely ignored him. 

Sneaking around took longer than you would have liked, but eventually you ended up on the R&D floor. Sure enough, Tony was busy working in his lab, music blaring across the speakers. You paused as you smiled at him. You’d missed him. 

Nat and Steve pushed past you and entered the lab. “Turn the music off, JARVIS.” Nat ordered. 

The music immediately cut off and Tony spun around to face them. 

“Spangles. Itsy-Bitsy.” He said stiffly. “You know I hate it when you turn my music off.” He squinted at them. “You two are in deep shit.” 

You plastered a disappointed look on your face as you edged past your family. You put your hands on your hip. “Anthony Edward Stark! You watch your language!” 

Tony stood frozen as he looked you over. The look of pure shock on his face broke your act and a warm smile coated your lips. 

“Babushka?” He asked quietly, almost hesitantly. 

“Tony.” You cooed, taking a few steps closer to him and wrapping him tightly in your arms. You saw Steve stiffen out of the corner of your eye, but you ignored him. 

Tony crushed you to his chest. “I thought I’d lost you.” He cried in your ear, too low for anyone else to hear him. 

Steve took a step towards you and Tony but Nat shot an arm out to stop him. She shook her head when Steve glanced at her. 

“I’m here though.” You muttered back to Tony, just as quietly. 

“Everyone keeps leaving me.” He said, a tear sliding down his face. 

You shook your head and pulled away far enough that you could cup his face in your hands. “I’m not going anywhere.” You promised, leaning his head down to place a kiss on his forehead. Tony reached up at kept your hands firmly pressed against the side of his face. For a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were the electronic hums of the lab around you. 

Then, Tony cleared his throat and pulled away. “What can I do for you?” He asked. 

You smiled. “I need a favor.” 

“Shoot.” 

“Do you still have the EXO-6 and EXO-7 squirreled away somewhere?” 

Tony’s jaw went slack and he jabbed a finger in your direction. “What?! No. No way. Uh-uh. Not gonna happen. In case you’ve forgotten since your miraculous recovery which we WILL be talking about later . . . you almost blew up the last time you strapped yourself to that death trap.” 

“What?!” Steve exploded behind you. 

You waved a hand behind your back, telling Steve to shut up before you turned back to Tony. “I know what went wrong last time. I can fix it.” 

“That’s still going to be a no from me, Babushka. Call me crazy, but I’m not willing to risk your life.” 

You sighed. “Well it’s probably better this way, anyway.” You murmured. 

Tony smiled. “Thank yo . . .” 

You cut him off. “JARVIS?” You asked innocently, keeping your eyes glued to Tony’s face. 

JARVIS murmured your name. You smiled and closed your eyes as memories of the AI washed over you. You’d missed him. “It’s nice to see you again.” He said fondly. 

You opened your eyes and smiled. “I’ve missed you.” You admitted. 

“And I, you.” JARVIS echoed. 

“I wish we had time to catch up, old friend, but I need you to do me a favor.” 

The four other people in the lab watched you curiously as your smile took on a dangerous glint. 

“Anything.” JARVIS agreed. 

“Initiate protocol ‘Little Brother’.” 

“What the he . . .” Tony started. 

“Initiat . . .” JARVIS’ voice died off as the lights in the lab flickered. Tony glanced around wildly, with a confused look before he glanced back at you just as a deeper, much more husky voice filled the air and called your name. 

Nat shot you a smirk that you did your best to ignore as the husky voice you’d spent years missing and then years trying to perfect filled the room. “What can I do for you?” The new AI asked in Russian. 

“STEPAN.” You started, easily switching to Russian. Nat’s smirk grew even wider. “Do you know if Tony is keeping the EXO-6 and 7 somewhere?” 

“According to JARVIS’ memories, the wings are kept in the subbasement.” STEPAN said easily. 

“Perfect. Be a dear and get them for me?” 

“Da.” STEPAN said. 

A suit that was standing sentinel in the corner of the room suddenly came to life. Tony cursed as the suit turned and shot out the glass window in the far corner of the room and dove out of the empty space. 

You winced. “Try not to break anything!” You called out into the room, still speaking in rapid Russian. “We’re trying NOT to draw attention to ourselves.” 

“Da.” STEPAN said sadly. 

The room fell oddly silent as four sets of eyes turned to you. You shrugged and smiled innocently. 

“You HIJACKED JARVIS?” Tony demanded, an odd mix of pride, amusement and frustration bubbling on his face. 

You faked a hurt look. “Of course not!” 

Tony waited for the other shoe to drop. 

“I copied JARVIS and made a few tweaks.” 

Tony scoffed. “Making a Russian skynet isn’t exactly what I would call ‘making a few tweaks’.” He grouched fondly. 

You smiled again. “You’re just angry because you didn’t know I had.” 

Tony shook his head. “When did you even do this? I didn’t know you knew how to code.” 

“I don’t. Not really. But you do. And you can be quite the teacher when you want to be. If you remember right, I was there when you built JARVIS. I learned a lot.” 

Tony nodded at you slowly. “Right. And ‘STEPAN’?” He asked knowingly. 

Your smile froze on your face and you glanced at Steve out of the corner of your eye. His hands were clenching and unclenching but he shot you an uneasy smile before you turned back to the inventor. “Chosen at random.” You mumbled unconvincingly. 

Tony’s smirk said it all. 

The sound of thrusters firing drew everyone’s attention back to the window just as the suit your AI was controlling stepped back into the room. Your smirk grew even brighter as the suit held out two backpacks to you. You took them both eagerly and tossed Sam the EXO-7. “Suit up!” You called cheerfully. 

Tony took a step towards you but the suit blocked his path. He glared up at the offending suit for a moment before he turned back to you. “This isn’t a good idea.” He warned, glancing at the EXO-6 with an unreadable yet dark expression on his face. 

You shook your head sadly. “I don’t think we have a choice medvezhonok.” You said sadly. You held the backpack behind your back so Tony couldn’t steal it from you as you reached up and cupped the side of his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into your touch. 

“I’ll be safe.” You whispered. “I promise.” 

He pulled your hand off his face and squeezed it tightly in both of his. “I’ll come with you . . . I can . . .” 

You shook your head. “The fewer people involved the better it will be, Tony. Trust me.” 

Tony smiled ruefully. “I do . . . I just . . .” 

“I know.” 

“And you can’t . . .” 

“I know.” 

Tony sighed and glanced at the ceiling. “I hate that you can do that.” He murmured. 

You smiled sadly and squeezed his hand. “I know.” You turned to leave before you glanced at him one last time. 

“I love you, medvezhonok.” You whispered. 

It was Tony’s turn to smirk, though it was still tinged with a sadness you weren’t sure would ever truly leave. “I know.” He laughed. 

You smiled at him one last time before you moved to follow your family back to the stairwell you’d entered through. “Oh.” You said pausing. “STEPAN?” 

“Da?” 

“Lock down the lab. Nothing in, nothing out, nothing works. At least until we’re out of the building.” 

“Hey!” Tony called from behind you. 

You spun around and shot an accusing finger out at him. “You haven’t slept in days, Tony. You can’t fool me.” You pointed at a cot in the corner of the room. “You’re sleeping. End of story.” You glanced at the ceiling. “STEPAN? He get’s at least two hours of sleep. Got it? Then you can let JARVIS back out to play.” 

The AI hummed approvingly and you smirked at Tony. “Sleep!” You ordered before you spun back around and started following your family down the stairs. 

The first few floors were silent except the echoing of heavy footsteps as Sam and Steve bumbled their way down the stairs. You and Nat were silent as the grave, but the two of them made enough noise for the four of you. 

You turned the EXO-6 over in your hands and tapped on the control panel lightly, thinking over your options. Your mind was still a little hazy. You’d need another few sessions with the gamma gun to be fully back to your old self, but you were almost positive you remembered how to fix what you needed to fix. 

Your hand shot forward and you started digging in the back pocket of Sam’s jeans causing the soldier to jump and try to spin around. 

“Hold still.” You mumbled, digging for the small toolkit you’d seen him slip in there before you’d left his house. “Ah-ha!” 

You pulled the kit out and held the backpack out on your arm as you held the toolkit in your hand as you quickly used your free hand to open the panel on your backpack and started rooting around the wiring. 

Sam sputtered beside you indignantly, but you ignored him. 

Steve cleared his throat. 

“You wanna explain what just happened up there?” Steve asked, trying to effect a casual tone as he glanced at you. 

You smiled fondly. “A meeting with an old friend.” 

Steve was silent for a moment before he paused on the stairs and glanced at you. Nat stopped where she was a few steps down and glanced back up at you with a smirk on her face. 

“Was that all he was? An old friend?” 

You stopped fiddling with a screwdriver to glance at your soulmate. You tried fighting the smile threatening to bloom on your lips. “Are you jealous?” You asked in amusement. 

Steve’s knuckles were white as they tightened around his biceps but he shook his head. “No.” He said. 

I sounded more like a question. 

You shook your head and went back to what you were doing. “Jarvis, the human, not the AI, Peggy and I practically raised that boy, Steve. I changed his diapers.” 

Steve grimaced but his grip on his arms loosened as he shot you a wry smile. “Changed his diapers, huh?” He asked. 

You smiled. “He was . . . is . . . like a son to me.” 

You rewired a few more wires, changing a few secondary relays and a few internal circuits before you smiled satisfactorily. “That should do it.” You said, flipping the toolkit closed and handing it back to a grudging Sam. 

He shook his head. “It’s still a death trap.” He muttered. “No way you fixed that part.” 

Steve frowned. “About that . . .” He started. 

You shook your head as you glanced at the three of them in the dim stairwell. “I know what I’m doing, boys.” You said. You glanced at Steve. “I love you. And I’ve missed you. But I’m more than the woman you left behind.” You reminded him softly. “You need to trust me.” 

You could see the war in his eyes and the fear he had of losing you again. You empathized with him. The thought of losing him again nearly sent you to your knees. But neither of you had the option to sit back and let others take care of this mess. This was the life BOTH of you had chosen. The world needed you. You’d answer it’s call. Whatever happened. 

Steve stared at you for a minute before he nodded firmly. You slung your backpack over your shoulder as Steve reached out and clutched your hand in his, pulling you beside him as the four of you continued your trek down the stairs. 

“So, what now?” He asked. 

You and Nat exchanged a glance. “Now we find Sitwell.” She answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaay! Lot's of notes here.
> 
> So, first off. This is obviously a pretty drastic shift from the movie, but hey, it fits. In the comics, Peggy and Tony are really close. She's his Godmother after all. It makes sense that once Babushka got out of Russia and she and Peggy were reunited, she'd come to love Tony too. Which of course brings us to STEPAN. 
> 
> Babushka was present when Tony first started coding JARVIS. She asked him a lot of questions about what she was doing because Babushka, though not a tech genius herself, is a MASTER of learning new skills on the fly. She would have had to have been in order to survive in Cold War Russia as an American spy because if you remember, she didn't know any Russian before she moved there. 
> 
> Babushka does make a few tweaks to JARVIS and gives him a "little brother" in the form of STEPAN which is clearly the Russian form of the name 'Steve' (or so Google tells me.) She also gave STEPAN the best approximation of Steve's voice that she could from memory. 
> 
> Babushka was alone for a long time between when Peggy managed to get her out of Russia and when Nat arrived. She spent nearly twenty years thinking that all her family was dead. She got lonely. STEPAN was as close as she felt like she'd be able to get to "resurrecting" her soulmate.
> 
> But he's back now and it's fine. Everything's fine. All the time. Fine.
> 
> Anyway, how'd you like the chapter? It was different but I had a lot of fun writing Tony and Babushka's relationship. Plus, it doesn't make a lot of sense that Tony didn't make even a cameo in CATWS. He really should have with SHIELD falling apart and all.
> 
> Lemme know what you thought! We'll be back to more of the "canon" story next time.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	16. Jasper Sitwell

You waited on top of the roof that Nat had told Sam to meet you on. 

“You sure this is going to work, doll?” Steve asked, watching you anxiously as you adjusted the straps on your backpack. 

Natasha rolled her eyes as you fumbled with a few of them more oddly placed ones and turned you around, tightening them herself. 

“Of course I’m sure, Stevie.” You said, doing your best to ooze confidence into your voice despite the fluttering's of nerves in your own stomach. It wouldn’t do any good to let him know about those. 

Nat patted you on the shoulder and you turned back around to face her and Steve. Neither of them looked convinced. 

You walked to your soulmate and wrapped your arms around his waist. You leaned close and pressed your lips gently against his. Steve resisted for only a moment before his own arms wrapped around you, pulling you close as he deepened the kiss. 

Natasha scoffed beside the two of you. “This is worse than watching Clint and Laura.” She grumbled. 

You pulled away from Steve and swatted at her, although she danced away from you. “What a horrible thing to say, my little pauk.” 

She smiled gently at you. 

Steve tipped his fingers under your chin and turned your attention back to him as he kept his other arm wrapped around you. “You promise you’ll come back to me.” 

You kissed him lightly again. “Couldn’t stop me if you tried.” You promised. 

The door to the roof slammed open and Steve instinctively shoved you behind him as Sitwell was thrown to the ground. You rolled your eyes lovingly and glanced at Nat, nodding towards her. She followed Steve as he marched towards the weaselly little man. 

You took a deep breath and launched yourself into the air, using your pack to keep yourself in the air, hovering over the scene unfolding below. 

“Tell me about Zola’s algorithm.” Steve demanded. “Tell me how HYDRA’s going to use Project Insight.” 

“Never heard of it.” Sitwell murmured, picking himself up off the ground. You scoffed. 

“Fine. What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?” Steve asked next. Nat stepping after him dangerously. 

“I was throwing up. I get seasick.” 

Steve backed him up against the short wall that ran around the entire roof. You tensed, waiting for your signal. 

Sitwell paled considerably as his arms cartwheeled over the edge. Steve gripped his lapels and pulled him close. 

Sitwell chose that moment to grow a pair. 

“Is this display meant to insinuate you’re going to throw me over the edge?” He sneered. “That’s not really your style Rogers.” 

Steve glared at him for a moment. You smirked. Sitwell was right. Steve wouldn’t, but Nat would. You waited for Steve to mention as much, but Sitwell wasn’t done. 

“You wouldn’t want that cute little wife of yours to look at you with disgust, would you? Oh wait. She doesn’t remember you.” 

Steve shoved him off the roof without a second thought. 

You swallowed your shock and immediately dove off the roof, diving after the man as you shot past your soulmate. 

You kept your limbs tucked tightly to your body as you raced after him. At the last second, you gripped one of Sitwell’s ankles and shot your arms out, deploying your wings. 

The updraft caught you despite your extra load and you swung back up towards the roof. You dropped Sitwell in an undignified heap at the feet of Nat and Steve. Before dropping to your feet and crossing your arms. In front of you, Steve let out a breath you hadn’t realized he’d been holding as soon as your feet touched solid ground again. 

You lifted your chin proudly as you glared disapprovingly down your nose at the coward shaking before you. Right as Sitwell raised his eyes to meet yours, your wings burst into flames. 

Steve sucked in a deep breath and took a desperate step towards you, hands already reaching out. You shook your head subtly and eased your wings, so they were no longer flush against your back but pointing straight back. 

You could see Steve fighting his instincts to protect you, but one more glare in his direction focused his attention back on the man in front of you all. 

Steve directed his fear into anger as he took another step towards Sitwell. The man immediately flung his hands up. “Zola’s algorithm is a program for choosing Insights targets. For choosing people like you! Anyone that’s a threat to HYDRA! Now or in the future.” 

Steve and you exchanged a glance, though his eyes were more fixed on the wings still burning with the strength of a thousand suns. If HYDRA hadn’t destroyed your ability to feel anything that touched your back, you’d be in trouble right now. 

Steve’s attention turned back to Sitwell and you winced. Steve was going to be pissed when he saw the blisters that were sure to be forming across your skin. 

Nat caught your eye and moved to take a step towards you. You shook your head. 

“How could it know future threats?” Steve demanded. 

Sitwell laughed. “How could it not?!” He demanded. “Look around the world you live in now, Captain. It’s a digital book! Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Insight analyses peoples past to understand the future.” 

“And then?” You demanded, stepping closer. 

Sitwell flinched. “And then Insight erases the threat.” He glanced at the three of you. “A few million at a time.” 

“I’ve heard enough.” Nat said. She marched up to Sitwell and punched him in the face. She hauled him to his feet and shoved him towards the stairs. “Walk.” She demanded. 

He hesitated. 

“Want another one-ticket trip downstairs?” She offered, gesturing pointedly towards the edge of the roof. 

Sitwell grimaced and quickly made towards the stairs leaving you and Steve alone. 

He turned to you. “Doll . . .” He started, concerned. 

You cut him off. “It’s just a small overheating problem. Very small. Completely minor.” You said quickly, fluttering the wings in breeze of the rooftop. You pulled at the straps around your chest and the backpack fell to the ground. The flames extinguished as you kicked dust on them. 

You bent towards the pack. “I thought I’d fixed it . . .” You murmured to yourself, pulling the control panel back. You flinched as your fingers came in contact with the still hot metal. 

Steve winced in unison behind you, as his fingers burned too. 

You shucked your jacket and wrapped it around your backpack. 

Steve sucked in a horrified breath behind you as your shirt shifted enough for him to see the blisters boiling where the straps had been. 

You froze as he knelt beside you and pulled the back of your shirt down to reveal the damage. 

“Sweetheart.” He choked out. “You promised you’d be okay.” 

You turned to face him slowly. “I did. I am.” You said meekly. 

He gestured at your back. “That’s NOT fine.” He said almost angrily. 

You sighed. “Stevie.” You whispered, leaving your backpack abandoned on the roof as you reached out your hands to cup his face. “Did you feel it?” You asked. 

He stared into your eyes, desperate to understand this new side of you. 

“Did I . . .” 

“Did you feel it? Yes.” 

He shook his head. 

You smiled sadly as you ran your thumbs under his eyes. “I assume you saw what else is back there?” You asked. You swallowed hard. It wasn’t something you wanted to remember. 

He nodded. 

You pulled him closer and leaned his forehead against yours. “There are worse things out there than a couple of burns, Stevie.” You whispered. “And I didn’t feel it.” 

He gripped your hands that were still cupping his face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He murmured as he quickly put two and two together. 

You bent closer and placed a gentle kiss against his lips. “It’s in the past now, love.” You pulled away and looked at him. “Our past’s change us, but they don’t define us. You of all people should know that.” You gave him a sad smile. 

Steve let out a shaky breath. 

“You’ll always want to protect me.” You continued. “It’s who you are. But you can’t protect me from all my choices Stevie.” 

He nodded slowly, finally seeming to come to terms with this new sense of normal. 

You smiled and tried to ease the tension as you bent down and scooped your wings up. 

“Besides, we may still technically be the same age, but only one of us has the experience that comes with true age. You, sir, should respect your elders.” 

Steve chuckled sadly as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and led you towards the door. “Is that what you are, sweetheart? I seem to recall that I was born before you.” 

You smiled as the two of you fell into easy teasing. You knew better than to assume everything was solved. But for now, it was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but it brings up an important conversation that they're going to have to have sooner or later. 
> 
> Steve is technically older, but he's stunted at roughly the age he went into the ice and though he's grown in leaps in bounds, still has a similar mindset to the time period. That's going to take some time to get over.
> 
> Meanwhile, Babushka LIVED for the past seventy years. She's grown. She's matured. She's suffered. 
> 
> She's not perfect, but she's in a lot of ways, a lot smarter than Steve. She also turned into somewhat of a single-woman suicide squad after Steve died which means that she's going to take a LOT of calculated risks. Like it or not.
> 
> Poor Steve.
> 
> Anyway, one last note. I know in the movie, it's Sam who catches Sitwell after Nat shoves him off the roof, but . . . why didn't they have a lookout? They really needed one. 
> 
> Sam was playing lookout. It's fine though. He'll get some fight action soon.
> 
> Next chapter? THE WINTER SOLDIER.
> 
> Thanks for reading! As always, lemme know what you're thinking, likes, dislikes, etc. in the comments.
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	17. Remember The Winter Soldier?

The five of you were crammed into the car like sardines. Sam and Steve sat in the front. You and Nat sat on either side of a still squirming Sitwell. 

Every now and again, Steve would shoot worried looks in your direction behind Sam’s seat. You did your best to ignore them. Steve wouldn’t have fit back here and all of you knew it. It was maybe one of the few times he wished he was still scrawny. 

“HYDRA doesn’t like leaks.” Sitwell said, suddenly. 

“Then why don’t you try sticking a cork in it?” Sam suggested angrily. 

Sitwell’s pleas for mercy were starting to annoy everyone. 

“Insight’s launching in sixteen hours.” Nat said, ignoring both of them as she stuck her head between Steve and Sam’s seats. Sam eye’s met yours in the rearview mirror and you nodded. She wasn’t wrong. 

“I know.” Steve said agitatedly. “We’ll use him to bypass the DNA scanners and access the helicarriers directly.” 

“It’s a good plan.” You agreed easily. “Just one small detail. How are you and Natalia going to EVADE the DNA scanners? You have an entire country on the lookout for you.” 

Steve opened his mouth to answer the question but Sitwell chimed in instead. “What?! Are you CRAZY?” He demanded. 

You spun around to answer him when suddenly, a thud sounded on top of the car. Pure instinct and a lifetime of being hunted had you ducking to the floor of the sedan as far as you could go just a moment before an arm shot through your window and snatched Sitwell, pulling him from the vehicle and throwing him into oncoming traffic. 

“Doll!” 

“Baushaka!” 

“Shit!” 

The car veered slightly but Sam corrected just as you popped up and glanced out the window in time to see someone moving towards the windshield. 

“Down!” You screamed, reaching up around the headrest and jerking Sam’s head to the side. Beside you, Natalia threw herself forward, wrapping her body around Steve’s torso and jerking him to the other side. 

The windshield shattered as shots fired into the car. 

Steve reached down and gripped the emergency break. The three of you jerked forward as the car came to a screeching halt. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air as you watched a body fly through the air. 

The man tumbled and rolled a few feet before he reached out an arm and dug his metal fingers into the concrete of the highway. 

Your eyes widened in horror and your back seemed burned as memories assaulted you as you took in his all too familiar form. 

You knew this man. 

Panic the likes of which you hadn’t felt since you’d tried to escape Russia nearly thirty years ago filled you to the brim and you fumbled with the door handle, trying to get out of the car. “Go! Go! Go!” You screamed. 

Before anything else could happen, you felt the impact of a car as someone rear-ended you, sending you screeching closer and closer to the man that still haunted your nightmares. 

Sam tried to wrangle control of the car, but before he could realistically do anything, the man in front of you flipped through the air and landed hard on the top of the car again. 

You fumbled for the gun in your waistband and fired three shots blindly through the roof. 

The shots hardly seemed to deter the man as he punched through the windshield and ripped the steering wheel out of Sam’s hands. 

“Shit!” Sam yelled again. 

You aimed your gun out the windshield and aimed for the man’s face as it barely peeked into the car. In the next second, he’d flipped onto the car still pushing you forward. “Doll!” Steve called desperately as the car behind you shifted and your sedan started to spin out dangerously. 

You took everything in in a fraction of a second. Steve had one arm wrapped around your granddaughter and the other arm held tightly in his shield. You put together his plan and knew instantly that he had a chance to get Sam and Natalia out safely, but he wasn’t going to have time for you. 

“Go!” You ordered, making the choice for him. You reached back and yanked the seatbelt you still wore as tight against you as you could. 

He hesitated and Nat took the opportunity to shove him towards Sam. The weight of the three of them threw the drivers door off it’s hinges seconds before the car started rolling. 

“No!” Steve yelled as the three of them fell out of the sedan. He and Nat slid down the highway on his shield, both sets of eyes glued firmly to the car as it tumbled. 

Steve winced as each roll of the car bruised another part of his body. He felt in painful detail just how injured you were as the car came to a rolling stop. 

He ignored the blood dripping from his nose and head as he took off running towards the car. 

“Steve! Wait!” Nat called behind him. 

Steve glanced up just in time to see the Winter Soldier aiming a huge rifle at him. Steve threw his shield up only moments before something with too much explosive force knocked him off the edge of the highway. He slammed into the bus below, shattering glass. 

Above him, you woke with a start as a new pain ripped through your body. You felt like you’d been hit with a bus. “Babushka!” A hazy voice called. 

You peeled your eyes open and saw someone clad entirely in black stepping towards your car as several other men fired shots around you. 

You turned your head and saw a flash of red hair and dark skin take cover behind another overturned vehicle. You took a deep breath and tried not to cry out in pain as the cuts and bruises in your body screamed at you to stay still. 

Hanging upside down, you fumbled for the gun that had miraculously slid just underneath you. 

You grabbed the gun with shaking hands and aimed a shot at the Winter Soldier but before you could get a shot off, an explosion ripped across the highway and you watched in horror as Nat was sent over the edge. 

“No.” You mumbled. You were WEREN’T going to lose her. Not again. 

You let the gun fall from your trembling fingers as you reached up and clutched at the seatbelt still holding you in place. You braced one arm against the roof of the car as best as you could and took two deep breaths before you clicked the seatbelt open and fell to the ground with a pained whimper. You gave yourself only a second to recover before you shuffled through the broken glass underneath you and pulled the middle seat up to revel the access panel to the trunk of the car. With shaking fingers you pulled your wings out of the trunk, still wrapped in your jacket and then scrambled as quickly as possible, despite the pain, to slip them on. 

Your fingers refused to stop shaking enough for you to clip the straps together, so you slipped the wings on loosely and prayed it would be enough to keep you from falling out of the sky. 

Then, you gripped your gun as best as you could and crawled from the wreckage. 

You immediately drew the attention of several of the Winter Solider’s henchmen and you wasted no time in squeezing off the last of the shots in your gun. 

Three of the men went down in crumpled heaps. 

Then the Winter Soldiers eyes were on you. 

At some point, he’d lost the glasses, but being able to see his eyes didn’t fill you with any sort of comfort. 

Those eyes had no humanity left in them. 

He raised his gun and aimed it at your chest. You threw yourself off the overpass. 

The wings barely caught your fall, opening up just enough to keep you from splatting against the pavement, but not enough to stop you from skidding against the ground. Your hands burned as you came skidding to a stop, the road eating at them. You didn’t have time to dwell on the pain as you heard three bodies come repelling down behind you. 

You pushed to your feet and curled into a ball, keeping your wings raised behind you in a semblance of a shield. 

In front of you, you watched as Steve dove out of the window of a bus. You couldn’t help your wry smile as you realized not all of your injuries were your own. 

Steve raised his shield, hunched in a similar position to yourself. His desperate eyes met yours and he gave you a panicked once over before his attention was turned to the men doing their best to make swiss cheese out of the both of you. 

He made a few hand gestures, signaling his plan and you nodded grimly. 

Then, he jumped to his feet and pushed forward towards the men. All three of the gunmen immediately turned their attention to him. The second you couldn’t hear the pinging of bullets against your wings anymore you jumped to your feet and shot into the air, still pleading with the powers that be that your wings wouldn’t take off without you. 

Luck was on your side and you managed to slam your feet into one of the gunmen right in the chest. You grabbed the gun as it was flung into the air and you quickly shot another gunman. Steve wasted no time in disarming the other before he raced to your side. 

“Are you okay?” He demanded, his hands fluttering over you, looking at your injuries. You tried to smile but you knew it came off as more of a wince. 

“Fine.” You croaked out. 

Steve shook his head and glared at the loose straps on your wings. He reached out and quickly did them for you before more shots were fired, causing the both of you to jump off the car you’d been standing on and duck behind it. 

You groaned as your body impacted against the asphalt. 

Steve gave you a worried look but you shook your head. “Where’s Natalia?” You demanded, pointing Steve’s attention in the more pressing direction. 

Steve glanced up as shot’s fired above us. Sam had taken up a sniper position. “Go!” He called down. “I got this!” 

Steve glanced at you one last time but you shook your head. “Natalia.” You whispered urgently. 

Steve nodded, and took off running, shield clutched firmly in his grasp. 

You pushed to your feet more slowly, desperately trying to catch your breath before you adjusted your grip on your borrowed rifle and took off towards the sounds of battle. 

You arrived just in time to watch Steve rip the Winter’s soldier mask off as he tossed the man behind him. 

You raised your pilfered weapon to your shoulder and took aim as the Winter Soldier slid to a stop and slowly pushed up from the ground. 

Your heart pounded in your chest as you saw the man behind the mask for the first time. 

Your finger hesitated over the trigger of your gun. 

“Bucky?” You heard Steve call out in horror. 

Your heart threatened to break as the battle waged within you. No. It couldn’t be. Not after all this time. 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” The man responded. 

You fired the shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Babushka is HURT. That was not fun to write but there was literally no way Steve could have gotten everyone out of the car. She's lucky the soulmate bond is still evolving and she was able to walk off as much as she was able to walk off.
> 
> Veeeerrrrry Curious to know what you all are thinking now.
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	18. Captured

You watched as the soldier spun away from you as the force of your shot ricocheted off his shoulder. He dug his heels quickly into the asphalt and spun back around. For a moment, behind the snarl and the mayhem, you thought you saw a sliver a recognition in his eyes. 

Then the sounds of police sirens drawing closer snapped the two of you back to the present and Bucky spun on his heel and disappeared in an instant. 

“Bucky.” Steve mumbled. “That was Bucky.” 

You dropped the gun you were carrying and tried to race to his side, but the adrenaline was starting to fade, and the pain was starting to flare. You groaned and slipped the backpack from your shoulders. 

The sound seemed to register with Steve, and he spun around to see you clutching at your side. “Sweetheart.” He took one worried step towards you before several cars swerved into view, surrounding you, Steve, Nat and Sam just as Sam ran view. 

Dozens of cops, soldiers and to your horror, SHIELD agents came rushing out of the cars, guns aimed at the four of you. “Down on your knees! Down on your knees!” They were screaming. 

You quickly affected the blank look that you vaguely remembered carrying for the past few years and glanced around as though confused. 

Nat took one look at you and quickly adjusted to your plan. “Babushka!” She called out gently as she slipped to her knees on the pavement. “Babushka, kneel down! It’ll be okay! Okay? Just get down on your knees.” 

You sent her your most realistic confused expression as you slipped to your knees. You were relieved to see the soldiers around you lowering their guns. 

Rumlow kicked Steve in the back of the knees to get him to the ground and you groaned internally at the added bruises to your own body. 

Rumlow glanced at his guys. “Get him up.” He ordered before he moved towards you. 

That seemed to slap Steve out of his trance. “Don’t touch her!” He yelled. 

Rumlow froze in his steps. “You think I’d hurt Babushka?” He asked, his sleazy voice caressing the syllables of your name in a way that made you want to take a shower. 

Steve lunged towards the soldier and suddenly several more guns were cocked at Steve. You met his eyes and shook your head slowly. 

The fire in his eyes flared a moment before they died, and his eyes closed in defeat. This was one war he couldn’t fight. 

Rumlow smiled sadistically as he gestured with his head for his men to restrain your soulmate. Then, he turned back to you. “Come on, Babushka.” He said gently, bending down and helping you up. His grip was surprisingly gentle given the circumstances. He glanced at your battered body and tsked. “What did your soulmate do to you, huh?” He asked. He smoothed your hair out of your face and rubbed your back consolingly. “It’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you again.” He said. 

You nodded along, playing your part and doing your best not to squirm away from his unwanted touch, gentle as it may have been. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He said gently, but with a hidden firmness in his tone. 

He started leading you to one of the black SUV’s that he and his men had arrived in. You glanced to the side and saw Steve, Sam and Nat all being led to a prison transport van. 

“Nat?!” You asked suddenly, digging your heels in. Your eyes took on a wide panicked look and you started shaking. “Nat?! Where’s Nat? NAT?!!” 

Rumlow tried to calm you down. He glanced up and saw a news helicopter circling. “Shut up!” He whispered fiercely. 

You dropped your tone but kept shaking as you continued whispering Nat’s name over and over. 

Rumlow swore under his breath and quickly changed directions, leading you to the prison truck as well. 

He waited until the three had been shoved inside and the guards stationed and then he gently helped you inside and sat you next to your granddaughter. “There you go, Babushka. She’s fine. See?” You nodded your head as you threw yourself at Nat. You felt her grunt of pain and felt the blood already coating the side of your face. You ignored it all as you slipped her a bobby pin, using your bodies to hide the action. 

You sobbed into her shoulder and she raised her manacled wrists to stroke your hair gently. “It’s okay, Babushka. You’re okay.” 

“You can ride with Romanov, okay Babushka? We’ll get you cleaned up when we get to base.” Rumlow murmured darkly from the doors of the transport. He had wanted to get you alone. That was clear. But why? 

He sent a scathing look in Steve’s direction. “Take a good look at her, Cap’.” He mocked. “It’s the last time you’ll ever see her.” 

Steve’s fists clenched and he glared at Rumlow with the fire of a thousand suns. Rumlow merely laughed before he slammed the door shut. 

Your cries slowly stopped, but you kept your arms wrapped around Nat, using your arms to keep pressure against her wound without the guards noticing. 

The tension in the truck was nearly stifling as Nat worked under the cover you provided to get her handcuffs off. You sniffled every now and again, glancing around the cab before pressing your face back into Nat’s shoulder. The quick peeks you were getting of the truck filled you with grim determination. Getting out was going to be nearly impossible. 

Sam was watching you intensely, brow furrowed as though trying to figure you out. 

You did your best to avoid Steve’s gaze. You weren’t sure you could handle the judgement you were sure was painted on it. 

You’d just shot at his best friend. 

It wasn’t something Steve was going to take lightly. 

You felt Nat’s handcuffs come off underneath you and she took a shaky breath as she eased one of her hands up to press more firmly against the wound under her jacket. 

“We need to get a doctor here.” Sam said urgently. “She’s gonna bleed out here in the truck.” 

One of the guards whipped out a stun baton and you and Nat tensed around each other. Despite your aching muscles, you moved to spring at the guard when suddenly, the guard shot the weapon out and nailed the other guard in the chest with it. 50,000 volts of electricity shot through the other guard, knocking them unconscious instantly. 

Your wide eyes glanced up as the attacking guard pulled her helmet off. Maria Hill’s face glanced back at you. “That thing was squeezing my brain.” She said angrily, tossing her helmet against the family jewels of the man who’d just gone down. 

She glanced at you and smiled. “Agent Zero.” She said fondly. 

Your gaze narrowed and a playful smile crossed your lips as you stared back at the woman. “I see you haven’t forgotten everything I taught you.” You said. 

She smiled. “And risk the ass kicking I was sure to get when you got back? I don’t think so.” 

The two of your shared another smile before Nat groaned again. You immediately pulled open her jacket and pressed your palm more firmly against the wound, claiming your fingers around her shoulder. You stroked her hair as you muttered sweet nothings to her in Russian. 

“Who’s this guy?” You heard Hill ask, pointing at Sam. 

“Sam Wilson. Pararescue.” He said, smiling and offering her his hand. She smiled back. “Maria Hill. Fury’s right hand.” 

“What’s the plan?” Steve’s hard voice interrupted. The four of you glanced at a brooding Steve. His angry eyes were pinned to Nat’s shoulder, but you could feel some of it directed your way. You sighed. 

Hill took it all in stride. 

She pulled a laser out of her back pocket and a key out of her front. “Here.” She said, chucking Sam the key. She bent down and started slicing through the metal underbelly of the truck. 

You smiled at her before your attention turned back to Nat. “You’ll be okay.” You said, using your free hand to sweep her hair out of her face. 

She smiled weakly back. “I’ve had worse.” She muttered in Russian. 

You nodded. “So have I.” You agreed. “This is nothing.” 

The two of you laughed and you risked another look at Steve. He was glaring at his cuffs now as Sam tried to get them off him. You sighed. “As your grandfather would say, pauk, walk it off. We have work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This weekend was crazy. I moved, I had homework. I MOVED. So I didn't get to update and I'VE MISSED IT.
> 
> So here we are. 
> 
> Babushka's got a lot on her plate right now. Nat's hurt. They're captured. Steve's PISSED and though most of his anger is directed at Rumlow and friends, some of it is directed at Babushka. Like it or not, that was BUCKY she just shot at.
> 
> Safe to say, she's got some 'splaining to do.
> 
> Lemme know what you're thinking!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	19. Tough Conversations

You and Steve helped Nat get out of the truck Maria had waiting for you when you’d slipped, unseen, out of the prison transport. You gave Nat a worried look when her knees almost gave out underneath her, but she shook her head and smiled. 

Maria led the way into the abandoned building she’d led you too. If you didn’t know better, you’d assume she was leading you there to kill you. The vibe was distinctly ominous. 

As soon as you were in the base, you were suddenly surrounded by people demanding Hill’s attention. A doctor ran up behind you demanding to be allowed to take Nat. 

Hill shook her head. “She’ll want to see him first.” She said. 

You and Nat exchanged uneasy looks. 

Hill shouldered past a plastic curtain and your small group froze in their tracks. Fury was lying on a bed, hooked up to several different IV’s. He glanced up as you walked into the room and though his words were for everyone, his eyes stayed glued to you. “About damn time.” He murmured. 

You mustered a weak smile. Your own injuries were starting to scream for attention and it had been too damn long a day to deal with this. 

“Is that any way to talk to your superior officer?” You asked. 

Fury rolled his eyes, impressive for a man who looked like he’d just climbed out of his grave. “I seem to recall you giving me the reins to the carriage a long time ago.” 

You sent another weak smile his way and gestured around. “How’d it work out?” 

An awkward silence rang out into the room, but you were too tired to try and bridge it. Besides, you meant what you’d said and it gave you the smallest sense of satisfaction to watch Fury squirm under your attention knowing you were right. 

Another wave of pain washed over you and you sucked in a startled breath, finally breaking the silence. Six pairs of eyes immediately turned your way. 

“Doll . . .” Steve said, reaching for you. 

“Oh, yes.” Maria turned around and picked up a gamma gun lying on top of a table. “We brought this for you. Had a feeling you might need it.” Her eyes slid betrayingly over to Steve but you nodded. 

“Thanks, Hill.” You went to grab the gun from her hands but Steve beat you to it. 

“Come on.” He whispered in that way that made you know he wasn’t asking. He gripped your bicep in his hand and glanced at Maria. She gestured down the hall and your soulmate nodded his thanks before he dragged you in that direction. “We have a lot to talk about.” 

You sighed, but followed behind him after glancing at Nat one last time. Sam glanced at her and then at you and then crossed his arms and assumed a defensive stance in front of her with a small nod in your direction. 

“Thank you.” You mouthed at him. 

He nodded again. 

With your granddaughter seen to, and with her no doubt jumping at the bit to uncover all of Fury’s secrets now that the man had come back from the dead, you turned your attention back to your soulmate and the conversation you’d been dreading. 

Steve opened the door and slipped inside an empty room. The furniture was nearly decrepit, but he gestured to a table of some kind and you jumped onto it as well as you were able to. Steve closed the door behind the two of you and the resounding thud that echoed around you felt like it was sealing your fate. 

He held the gun up and studied it for a moment, quickly deciphering how it worked. 

You took a moment to study his features closely. His eyes were drawn and tired. His shoulders firm but sagging as though he carried the weight of the world on them. His muscles moved as though every step was exhausting. 

Your heart ached for him. 

Steve glanced up at you and waved the gun around. “Are you ready?” He asked quietly. 

You nodded. 

He approached you slowly and put a hand on your knee. He sighed as he glanced at the gun in his hands. “Does it hurt?” He asked quietly. 

You shook your head. “Not really.” His head shot up and his eyes met yours and you sighed. “Just a headache, Steve. But I think you knew that already.” 

He nodded again and then took a deep breath before he rubbed your knee and raised the gun to your temple. 

He waited until he’d pulled the trigger before he asked his question. 

“Did you know the Winter Soldier was Bucky?” He asked, his eyes glued to the gun at your temple. 

You were silent for a long minute, your eyes starting off at a point over your soulmates shoulder. Finally, you reached out your hands and took his free hand in both of yours. 

“I didn’t. But it explains something that’s been on my mind for nearly thirty years.” 

“You shot him.” 

“I did.” 

“You didn’t hesitate.” 

You could hear the unspoken question and you nodded slowly. 

“I . . .” You trailed off for a second before you closed your eyes. He needed to know. You reached up your hands and drew the gun away from your temple. Steve’s eyes met yours. “This wasn’t the first time I’ve had dealings with the Winter Soldier, Steve.” You whispered pointedly. 

Steve’s eyes stayed glued to yours as though he could divine a way out of the hell he’d been thrown into. He trusted you explicitly and believed what you were telling him in not-so-many words. You hadn’t had a choice. It was him or Steve. 

Still, Steve was right in the middle and he was feeling too many things to understand where you were coming from. So you explained. 

You patted the table next to you and urged Steve to sit. “Come on. You’ll be more comfortable.” 

Steve hesitantly perched on the table next to you and you grabbed his hand as he pressed the gun back to your temple. 

“Alena was born in 1946. She was my pride and joy.” You began, smiling sadly at the memory of your daughter. “It wasn’t easy growing up in Cold War Russia, but we managed. For the most part it was just the two of us.” You glanced at Steve. “She knew who her father was. I made sure she knew. She was proud of you, Stevie.” You chuckled. “Wanted to be just like her daddy.” 

Steve’s eyes watered and you brushed at your own tears as you turned back to face the wall again. 

“We worked together, gathering what intel we could and sending it by any means necessary back to Peggy here in DC. We never knew if she was getting the information or not. There was no way for her to get back to us. There was also no way to know if the Russian government was on to us or not. 

“For a long time, we were lucky. Or at least I thought we were. Turned out, they’d been watching us for awhile, waiting for a chance to strike. Captain America’s soulmate? And his daughter? We would have been the prize of any collector.” 

You could hear the gun groaning under Steve’s strength as he squeezed the metal too hard and you had to gently reach out and soothe his hands for a minute before you returned to your story. 

“We had made friends in the government. People who were just as leery of the choices being made as we were. They managed to warn us just before the government struck. There was only one problem; Alena was already pregnant. Nearly due. Moving her would be too risky.” 

“Nat said that you and . . . our daughter’s husband came up with a plan.” 

You nodded. 

“Victor was a good man from a well-to-do family. We knew his name would have enough weight to protect Alena as long as the government had someone else to play with.” 

Steve breathed out your name in a heartbreaking way but you shook your head. 

“You were already gone, Stevie.” You whispered. “And I’d already lived an entire lifetime with my family. I didn’t fear death.” You took a deep breath. “Natalia was born only a few days before I left. I looked into her innocent eyes and I knew I didn’t have a choice. I would have done anything for that little girl. I still would.” 

His hand gripped yours in a bruising hold, but you hardly noticed as you slipped back into the memories of the worst time in your long life. 

“My intention was to flee west, towards Europe, weaving a wild goose chase into my path and planting evidence at every twisted Russian official I could. I intended to make it look like they had been protecting me the entire time.” 

“But something changed.” Steve surmised. 

“I had originally wanted to get caught so, towards the end, I started playing with fire. I strayed closer and closer to my pursuers and it was because of this, and completely by chance that I found out that we’d been wrong the entire time. It wasn’t the Russian government that wanted me. It was HYDRA.” 

You started trembling. Steve set the gamma gun aside and shifted closer. He swung your body onto his lap and pressed your head to his chest as he rubbed your back soothing. You held a hand to his chest and breathed him in as you let the calming sensation of his steady heartbeat bring you back. 

“HYDRA was supposed to be gone. You had given your life to ride the world of them. I wasn’t content to die alone in a gulag somewhere any longer. I needed to get word to Peggy. I needed to have SHIELD start preparing.” 

“You didn’t make it that far.” Steve guessed. 

You shook your head slowly. “I’d been playing with fire.” You reminded him. “It was too late not to get burned.” 

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. “The Winter Soldier was sent after me. His mission was simple. Alive or dead, I was to be brought back to HYDRA.” 

Steve’s arms banded across your back, keeping you in a cocoon of safety as though he could go back in time and spare you the pain he could sense coming. 

“I put up a helluvah fight, Stevie. I almost got away too but in the end, I was no match for him. He always was able to beat me when we sparred.” 

Steve snorted, his own mind drifting to happier memories. “I always hated that you two did that.” 

You allowed yourself a small smile. “The Winter Soldier . . . Bucky . . . something was off with him. I saw it the night he captured me. He bested me in the end, and as I lay bleeding and broken on the floor, pleading with him to just finish me off, he . . . hesitated. It was like he was fighting with himself. A part of him wanted to do it. The other part of him . . . wanted to save me. 

“In the end, the part that wanted to save me won out. Though I came to wish it hadn’t. Bucky dragged me kicking and screaming back to his handlers. They were pleased with his work. Thought that just because they’d broken my body, they’d broken my will. 

“They were sorely mistaken.” 

Having gotten this far into the story, you were anxious to finish it. The following six months were dark and loathsome and still haunted you even now, thirty years later. 

“For six months, they tortured me. I . . . I don’t want to get into the specifics, but you’ve seen some of it. You . . . know some of it.” 

Steve sucked in a breath and pulled you forward so he could lift the neck of your shirt line and look at the scars that served as a permanent reminder of your vacation to hell. You tried not to whimper as he trailed a finger down one of them. 

“Bucky did this?” He asked, horrified. 

“He did some of them.” Your voice was so low, it was almost inaudible as tears leaked down your cheeks. “They were testing him too.” 

“Testing him? What do you mean?” 

You shook your head. “I . . . I don’t know what they did to him, Stevie. It was like they erased him. Every now and again a sliver of Bucky . . . our Bucky . . . would leak through. When it did. He’d stop. He’d whisper my name with his horrified voice and they’d drag him kicking and screaming away. But every time, he’d be back and it would start all over again.” 

Steve clung to you tighter as the waves of guilt washed over him. Everything you’d suffered. Everything Bucky had suffered and Steve had been nice and cozy in the ice, letting the world pass him by. 

He should have DONE something. 

As if sensing his guilt, you pulled away from his embrace and took his face in your hands. “There was nothing you could have done for us, Steve. All you can do is be here for us now. Don’t let the past weigh you down. I’m okay now. Peggy got me out. Fury fixed me up. And then Nat came back to me and I had a family again. Whatever I had to suffer to be here now, for her? It was worth it. Trust me.” 

Tears were trailing down Steve’s face as he sucked in a shaky breath and pulled one of your hands away from his face so he could kiss your palm. 

“You’re so much stronger than I could ever dream of being, sweetheart.” He said tenderly, pulling you forward to press a gentle kiss against your lips. 

You smiled. “I love you, Steve.” 

He returned your smile and kissed you deeper. “I love YOU, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Bucky. Poor Babushka.
> 
> Poor Everyone!!!
> 
> Sorry for the angsty chapter. We had to get the backstory outta the way. 
> 
> Now we can all focus on rescuing Bucky who, I think we can all admit, deserves all the rescuing. 
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	20. Planning the Fall of SHIELD

You and Steve finished up in the room as quickly as possible. You had wanted to rejoin the rest of the group sooner, but after your story, the protective instincts were riding Steve hard and he hadn't been able to let you out of his sight until he could see every last bruise disappear from your skin. 

It hadn’t escaped your attention how Steve had tucked the gamma gun into his waistband as you left the room to join the others. You knew it would be a struggle to even let you out of his sight for the foreseeable future. 

“Where do we go from here?” Nat was asking, already pulling her jacket back on while Sam looked on disapprovingly. 

“That’s a good question. What do we know?” Steve said, slipping into Captain mode, though he kept his arm wrapped around your waist. 

Nat sent you a discrete look and you nodded your head. You were fine. She smiled. 

“We know that HYDRA intends to launch Project Insight in a few hours.” Maria started. 

“We know that if they get any of the ships off the ground, it’s going to be impossible to stop them at that point.” Nat added. 

“We know we’re vastly outnumbered.” Sam added with a sigh. 

“And I’m assuming your credentials aren’t going to get us in anymore.” Steve said, glancing at Fury’s form on the bed. 

Fury shook his head. “No. I don’t think the council’s accepting my calls anymore.” 

“The problem isn’t getting the helicarriers out of the sky.” Maria started, turning a laptop around to face us. “The problem is getting the targeting systems offline. Once those birds hit a height of 3,000 miles, they’ll be able to synchronize with Insights satellites and THAT’S when they become a threat. All we need to do is get on board all three and take out the targeting chips and replace them with our own.” 

“Oh, is that all?” Sam asked sarcastically. 

Hill smirked. “We have to do it on all three of the helicarriers. It’s the only way to corrupt the system.” 

Sam rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like; “Forget I asked.” 

“We have to assume everyone on board those carriers is HYDRA.” Fury said, drawing attention again. “We’re going to have to do this ourselves.” 

All of you nodded grimly. But a scowl had taken up residence on your face. Fury seemed to notice. 

“Got something you want to share with the class, Zero?” He asked. 

You glanced around the room. “They know we’ve escaped.” You said bluntly. 

“And?” Fury asked. 

You shot him a glare that made him shift the tiniest fraction of an inch to the left in discomfort. “And they’re not going to be satisfied with sending Rumlow after us this time.” 

“What are you saying?” Hill asked. 

“I’m saying . . .” You blew out a breath. “I’m saying we can expect another visit from the Winter Soldier.” You eyed Steve. He froze. 

Nat glanced between the two of you before she hedged a question. “Between the three of us, we can take him out.” She said. 

Steve opened his mouth to argue, but you beat him to it. “We can’t do that.” 

“And why is that?” Fury cut in angrily. 

You turned to face him again. “The Winter Soldier is actually named James Buchanan Barnes. He served in the 107th during World War II and he’s a personal friend.” You put every bit of your weight into your voice, one that demanded obedience and promised pain for any disloyalty. 

Fury eyed you with a curious glint in his eye but it was Sam who asked the question on the directors mind. 

“He didn’t seem too friendly when he was trying to kill us all an hour ago.” 

You shook your head. “They’re . . . they’re brainwashing him somehow.” You glanced around the room and beside Steve, you were met with a whole lot of skepticism. You couldn’t even be upset because you understood where they were coming from. You just didn’t agree with it. You met their eyes earnestly and told the truth as you fought for Bucky’s life. “I saw him . . . Bucky. I saw him for a brief minute an hour ago. Just like I saw him every day for six months thirty years ago. Whatever they’re doing, however they’re trying to bury him . . . he’s fighting it. He’s in there. You’ve got to trust me.” You pleaded. 

“We’re not killing him. End of story.” Steve agreed. 

Fury leaned back in his bed, for all appearances looking utterly exhausted. 

You didn’t trust it for a second. “We can bring him into SHIELD . . .” 

“No.” Steve said firmly. “SHIELD’s done. It’s out.” 

“SHIELD had nothing to do with . . .” Fury argued. 

You shook your head. “HYDRA’s been growing under our noses since SHIELD was founded, Fury. Don’t you think that out of everyone associated, I would have noticed something if there’d been anything fishy to notice?” You shook your head again. “Believe me when I tell you this, there is no polygraph, there is no test, there is nothing we can use to determine who’s on our side and who’s not. Whatever we do here, it ends SHIELD. Permanently. And HYDRA alongside it.” 

Fury looked desperate as he glanced at all the faces in the room. No one spoke up or dared contradict my words. We were all thinking the same thing. It had to go. 

Fury sighed and shook his head. He glanced at Steve. “I guess you’re calling the shots then, Captain.” He murmured. 

All eyes turned to Steve and you once again saw him bowing under the weight of it. But just as you had seen him do hundreds of times in the past, he squared his shoulders, raised his head and rose to the task. 

“If we’re going to do this, we’re only going to have one shot at this.” His eyes met everyone’s in the room, but he lingered on yours. 

“We’ve got this.” You mouthed at him. 

He smiled. 

“We’ve got this.” He echoed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter (especially after that last one that seemed real long) but it couldn't be helped.
> 
> There's a couple different ways I see this playing out and I'm not sure which one I'd prefer. Any preferences? Any thoughts?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> Also- I love Protective Steve! And I also love Supportive Reader!
> 
> Babushka is HURT. That was not fun to write but there was literally no way Steve could have gotten everyone out of the car. She's lucky the soulmate bond is still evolving and she was able to walk off as much as she was able to walk off.
> 
> Veeeerrrrry Curious to know what you all are thinking now.
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	21. Breaking and Entering and . . . Breaking and Entering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to ChangelingChild.
> 
> Hope you were able to vanquish the rest of your daily demons. And if not - I'm still rooting for you. :D

Hill handed you a backpack with a small smile on her face. “Thought you’d want this back.” She said. 

You laughed as you ran your hands over the frame. “How’d you get it out of evidence?” You asked, assuming that’s where Rumlow had taken your wings. 

She shrugged a shoulder. “I have my ways. Just remember this when you’re on top again.” 

You laughed as you slid the backpack on and snapped the straps into place. “Oh, Hill. I’d never forget the little people.” You winked. 

She laughed as she walked away, leaving you to test your wings a few times just as Steve came up to you after his little outing with Sam. 

“Sweetheart.” He said. There was a warning tone to his voice that you chose to ignore. 

“Darling.” You smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck drawing him for a very long, very steamy and VERY distracting kiss. 

“You ready to go?’ You asked breathlessly as you pulled away. 

Steve blinked at you a couple of times and had to take a couple of calming breaths before he shook his head. “Uh . . .what?” 

You giggled. “Are you ready to go? Insight’s launching in T minus, Stevie.” 

He nodded. “Uh. Right. Right. We . . . we need to run a quick errand first.” He said, shaking off the rest of his haze. 

You hid your smirk as he attention turned back to you. “Where are we going?” You asked. 

“To break into a museum.” 

You eyes glittered. “You always did know how to show a girl a good time.” You teased as you grabbed his hand and followed him out the door. 

The two of you pulled up just down the street of the museum. “You sure about this?” You asked Steve, while biting your lip. 

He nodded as he glanced that the doors. “You said when he looked at you, he remembered you.” 

You nodded slowly. “I thought I saw a spark of something, yes.” 

Steve leaned over and pressed a searing kiss to your lips. “As much as you and Buck liked to think that I was reckless, I know better than to go into a fight without armor. The suit has Howard’s version of Kevlar in it.” 

You shook your head. “You ARE reckless. I had dementia Steve and only for a handful of years. I wasn’t in a coma. The costumes in there are nothing more than artistic replica’s. They haven’t got a stitch of anything protective in them.” 

Steve shot you a sheepish smile that told you he had been hoping you hadn’t known that little tidbit. 

You shook your head and glanced at the ceiling. “I’m going to regret this.” You mumbled. 

Steve shot you a winning smile and jumped out of the passenger side of the car, and raced for the museum. You watched him until he was out of sight and then you glanced at the gamma gun you’d lifted from him earlier. You needed to give the thing to Nat before all of you left on your mission. You had a feeling you were going to need it again. 

You also made a mental note to visit Banner when you had the chance. A few scans to make sure there weren’t any lingering side effects couldn’t hurt. 

With all that decided, you tucked the gun into your jacket and turned your eyes to the window, looking for the signs of your soulmate. 

It didn’t take long before you saw Steve racing back towards the van, a spangled costume rolled up under his arm. He dove into the van and you steered back into traffic. 

“That was quick.” You noted. 

Steve nodded. “The security guard was eating donuts at the desk. I just had to sneak past him.” 

You glanced in your mirrors, paranoid that someone was going to see you. But nothing noteworthy caught your eye. 

You weren’t the only one doing it either. Steve kept his eyes peeled. Swiveling between checking out the mirrors and glancing out the back window. 

The fifth time he turned in his seat, you reached over and laced your fingers with his. “Do you know where we are meeting them?” You asked. 

Steve nodded and quickly took over as navigator, distracting him from his paranoia. 

He squeezed your hand and you smiled over at him. 

You pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road and waited for Steve to climb in the back of your borrowed van to change. 

You kept your eyes on your husband as he stripped and climbed into his suit. You’d forgotten how much that suit did for you. 

Steve must have felt your eyes on him because he turned to meet your heated gaze in the rearview mirror. The two of you froze as your gazes connected and both of you knew what the other was thinking. 

Seventy years was a long time. 

The van rocked as a semitruck rushed past it and the two of you snapped back to attention. 

You cleared your throat and climbed over to the passenger side of the van and pushed your way out it. 

Steve waited for a lull in the traffic before he followed you. He held your backpack in one of his hands and he offered it to you with a weary expression. 

You took it with a quick; “Thank you.” And started buckling it to yourself. 

Steve adjusted his shield in his hands. “You could stay back . . .” He started. 

You shook your head, cutting him off. “Don’t you dare try to pull the damsel in distress routine on me, Rogers.” You started. “I’m no wilting flower and I’m certainly no Doll Dizzy. I can take care of myself.” 

Steve smiled at you softly. “I know you can, doll. The thing is . . . you don’t have to.” 

You met his eyes and an unspoken determination passed between the two of you. The last time either of you had heard that, Bucky had been the one talking. 

You were going to get him back. 

You finished strapping on your wings and then you nodded to yourself. “Alright.” You said. “Let’s go.” 

Steve reached over and grabbed your hand as the two of you marched into the forest lining the highway. 

You used your wings built-in radar to find Sam and Maria. They were waiting on a hill overlooking the river standing between you and SHIELD’s HQ. 

You glanced over them both and noticed something important. “Where’s Natalia?” You asked. 

Sam shook his head, but it was Hill who answered. “There’s been a slight change of plans.” She said. 

You and Steve exchanged a look before you shrugged. You knew your granddaughter. She could take care of herself. 

“What’s the plan?” You asked. 

“You, Sam and Steve will each take one of the helicarriers.” Hill said, handing out the new targeting chips. “I’ll stay on the ground and coordinate.” 

“We’re going to have to get you in first.” Steve noted. 

Hill nodded. 

She turned to you and you cracked a smile. “I’ve got something for that.” You said. 

You grabbed Hill and Sam grabbed Steve your wings shot everyone upward. The prototype for the cloaking technology Fury had put on his helicarriers worked like a charm as you shot past dozens of floors of SHIELD and HYDRA agents, none of whom were any wiser to the four people shooting up the side of the building. 

You got to the top of the roof and dropped Hill before you barrel rolled to a stop on the ground. You crouched in front of the communications relay and turned your back to it. You glanced at Maria who gave you the signal. You bent your head to your knees and covered it with your arms before you signaled the wings to shoot back and slam against one another. The deafening sound vibrated through the communications units and echoed through the radar technicians earpieces. 

Within seconds, the door to the roof was opening up as one lucky tech came out to take a look at the equipment. The poor man was met with two guns and a shield. 

“Excuse us.” Steve said. 

You followed your husband through the doors as he, Maria and Sam made quick work of securing the prisoners. 

Maria quickly swept to the desk and started hacking the systems. “It’s all yours Cap’.” She said, gesturing towards the microphone. 

Steve took a few steps towards you and flung an arm around your waist. “You think this is a good idea, Doll?” He asked. 

You laughed as he pulled you up against his chest. “I think it’s the only idea, Cap’.” You said smiling lightly. 

He bent down and placed a quick kiss to your lips which Hill and Sam did their best not to notice. Then, Steve walked over to the intercom. 

“Attention. This is Steve Rogers. You’ve probably heard a lot about me over the last few days. I know some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time you knew the truth.” 

Steve turned over his shoulder to glance at you and you nodded as you and Sam slipped out of the room. 

Steve’s voice continued on overhead. “SHIELD is not what we thought it was. It’s definitely not what its founders planned it to be. I know that, because I married one of them.” Steve laughed dryly. “No, SHIELD has been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE team I once led . . . well . . . they’re HYDRA too. And they’ve been ordered to kill me.” 

Steve sighed. “I don’t know how many more are here. But I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you. And I’m here to tell you, they almost have what they want. Absolute control. HYDRA’s been after that for seventy years and they’ve proved they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it. They shot Nick Fury. They tried to kill me and my soulmate. They’ve gone after everyone who can stop them. And it won’t end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that could ever stand in their way. I know I’m asking a lot. The price of Freedom has always been high. It’s a price I was willing to pay seventy years ago. It’s a price I’m willing to pay now.” 

There was a long silence and your eyes closed as you felt the weight of his next words. 

“If I’m the only one to pay it . . . so be it.” Steve’s tone was weary and you heard the man bleeding through. But the next second, his tone changed as he once again donned the Captain persona. His next words were a call to arms and you knew, without having to check, he’d found an army. 

“But I’m willing to bet I’m not.” 

You and Sam turned to grin at each other. 

“He write that down? Or was it off the top of his head?” Sam asked. 

You smiled. “You’ll have to ask him to find out. But between you and me?” You leaned closer as though sharing a secret. “The man didn’t learn how to write till he joined the army. Don’t think he could have written that if he tried.” 

Sam looked shocked for a minute before he burst out laughing and the two of you continued on your way. 

If Steve’s speech had accomplished nothing else, at least he had the two of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's HAPPPPEEEEEEENNNIIIIINNNNNGGGG!!!
> 
> Thoughts? Likes? Prophecies? 
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	22. Insight's Launch

You and Sam drew your guns as you drew closer to the hangers where they were keeping the helicarriers. “Are you ready for this?” He asked. 

You tilted your head. “Ask me again in twenty minutes.” You said, smiling at the man. 

Sam opened his mouth to snark something back but Maria’s voice interrupted. “They’re initializing launch!” She yelled through the comms. 

You and Sam glanced at each other, and then both took off running down the hallway. 

As you rounded the corner and burst out into the sunlight. “They’re already topside!” You yelled, glancing at the carriers quickly rising over your head. “You need one of us to wait for you, Stevie?” You asked. 

“Don’t worry about me, doll. I have my own way down.” 

You shook your head and spread your wings as you watched shards of glass raining down beside you. “Just remember who gets the bruises when you jump out windows now.” 

You bent your knees and propelled yourself upwards heading for the helicarrier furthest from the building. Sam beelined for the one next to it behind you. 

“Just one question.” Sam said. “How do we tell the good guys from the bad guys?” 

“If they’re shooting at you, they’re the bad guys.” Steve said succinctly. 

You grunted and veered off course as a heavy bruise started forming on your hip. “Guess you jumped.” You murmured under your breath. 

You twirled back into your original trajectory and skid to a stop on top of the carrier. You formed shield with your wings as you twirled around and dove behind several large shipping containers just as gunfire opened on your position. 

You pulled a grenade off your belt and flung it quickly behind you before you wrapped your wings over your head. The second the explosion went off, you jumped from the deck and propelled yourself up and over the edge of the deck. You swung around and pulled another grenade from your belt. You flung it at the glass as you approached the helm and used the weakened portion as an entry point as you crashed into the helm of the helicarrier. You barrel rolled behind a desk as shouts and guns started sounding. 

Behind you, your wings burst into flames. 

“Perfect timing.” You cooed as you braced your arms around your chest, pulling your wings in front of you and ignoring the burns already forming on your arms. You ignored Steve’s panicked shouts as you flung your arms forward, directing the heat out into a wall of flames that swept through the helm. 

You raced through the dozen or so screaming men and women as you raced to the control panel and swapped the targeting chips. 

“Alpha Lock.” You said quickly into the comms as you accessed the master controls and used Fury’s skeleton key to jam the control panel shut and lock everyone else out. 

You ran past the burned HYDRA agents who were fumbling for weapons as you dove out of the hole you’d created on your way in. 

Steve muttered your name exasperatedly. 

“I’m fine, Stevie. Don’t worry about it.” You said calmly. “Nothing a few minutes under the gamma gun won’t fix.” 

Steve sighed, but didn’t press the issue. 

“Captain?” Hill asked. “Status?” 

“I’m working on it.” 

“We’ve got eight minutes.” Hill warned. 

“Falcon? Where are you now?” Hill asked as you spread your wings and shot back up towards Sam’s carrier. 

“Had to take a detour.” He groaned. 

You flipped pulled up his location on your wrist unit and tsked when you saw the jets chasing after him. “Friends of yours?” You called. 

“Yeah. But don’t worry, I can lose ‘em.” He called. 

You watched with grim amusement as he pulled evaded the heatseeking missiles and used them to blast his way into his helm. 

“Bravo Lock!” He called out moments later. 

“Stevie? Where are you?” You called out, already circling around as you headed for the last helicarrier. 

“Ran into a bit of a snag.” He grit out. 

“Hold on, I’m on my way.” You said. 

“Good, doll, because I’m gonna need a ride.” 

You heaved a frustrated sigh and shot forward, bleeding your wings for everything they were worth. “You ready?” You called. 

“Just jumped!” He called back. 

You squinted your eyes and watched a soulmate shaped blob falling out of the sky and you dove for him without another thought. “Come on, come on.” You murmured. 

You reached an arm out and grappled for his. His firm fingers gripped your forearm and you reversed your trajectory and shot upwards, ignoring your straining muscles. 

You let out a scream as you worked against gravity. Somehow you managed to keep your grip on your husband and your wings managed to launch you up and over the edge of the helicarrier. You swooped down low and dropped Steve on the tarmac before collapsing in a heap next to him. 

Steve sucked in a couple deep breaths as he reached out a hand and rubbed your head gently. “You okay?” He asked, flexing his shoulder muscle as he eyed yours. You were pretty sure you’d torn something, but you weren’t going to let him know that. “Mmm-hmm.” You hummed unconvincingly. 

He let out a forced laugh and moved to help you to your feet when Sam landed behind the two of you. He eyed you nervously. “Remind me never to go toe to toe with you, ma’am. You’d beat me. Every time.” 

You laughed and took the compliment for what it was before Steve pulled you to your feet. 

“Six minutes, guys.” Hill said. 

The three of you nodded at one another and then took off for the door to the helm. You’d taken only a few steps when a bone-chilling roar filling the air and you watched as a black clad blur shot past you and knocked Steve over the edge. “Steve!” Both you and Sam called in unison. You made to jump off the edge, following your husband, but strong hands wrenched your wings back and tossed you to the side. You watched Sam dive after him and let out a momentary breath of relief before you hopped to your feet and chased after Bucky who was already aiming a grappling gun in the direction Sam had just dived. 

You dove for Bucky’s legs, using your wings to give you added velocity and just barely managed to knock Bucky off his feet. His grappling gun went skittering off the edge of the deck as you scrambled to get away from him. Your wings burst into flames just as he was reaching for you and he instinctively jerked away from you. You scrambled to your feet and tensed to run, but he flung his metal hand out and gripped the burning metal tightly. He wretched his arm back, snapping the weakened metal right off your pack. You didn’t even have a second to breathe before he roundhouse kicked you in the chest and sent you spiraling off the edge of the deck. 

“Doll!?” Steve’s devastated and helpless voice called in your ear as you fell straight past him. 

You tugged on your emergency release and let out a prayer of gratitude as the other burning wing shot off into the air behind you. You desperately yanked on the ripcord to your emergency chute as the ground came barreling up beneath you. 

With a vicious tug that sent another wave of pure agony shooting up your shoulder, the chute plumed out above you. 

You skid to a stop on the ground just outside of SHIELD HQ. You disengaged your chute and took in a few heaving lungsful of air with your hands braced against the concrete. It was only then that you heard the panicked shouts of your husband. 

“Doll! Doll!? Talk to me!” 

“I’m okay, Stevie. I’m okay.” You rose a shaking hand to your forehead and mopped your brow. “I’m grounded though. You guys do what you need to do. I’ll take the ground level.” 

You heard the rattling sigh that Steve let out and you wished you could hold him tight in your arms, but you both had jobs to do and you knew it. 

“Be safe, doll.” He ordered. 

“You too, soldiers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liiiiittle bit different. Sam was the one to end up on the ground before. But he's topside with Steve now. Which is good. Because Steve's about to need all the backup he can get.
> 
> Thoughts? Likes? Prophecies?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	23. Soulmate Bound

“Zero?” Hill asked. 

“Yeah?” You asked, shucking your useless pack. 

“Rumlow’s headed towards the council.” 

“Copy. Where’s Natalia?” You asked, pulling your gun from your thigh holster and checking your clip. 

“She’s with the council.” Hill said. 

You froze and quickly put two and two together. “Dammit.” You muttered. 

“Better hurry!” Hill advised. You raced towards the staircase and flung open the door, performing a sweep as quickly as possible before you started jogging up the stairs. “Wish I still had my wings.” You grumbled. 

Above you, a door squeaked open and Rumlow’s voice fill the stair well. “Copy. I’m on my way up.” 

You flung yourself against the wall as he peaked his head over the edge of the stairs. You waited with bated breath as his footsteps started heading up. He was moving methodically, slowing him down. You took a deep breath and started racing up the stairs. You could catch him if you didn’t pause to take a break. 

Steve and Sam glanced around the deck, methodically checking for stragglers. Bucky had surprised them, but they weren’t going to let it happen again. 

“No one’s here, man.” Sam pointed out quietly. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” 

Steve nodded. “I think they all abandoned ship.” 

“Why?” 

The two soldiers exchanged a look and Sam swallowed hard. “Oh. Right.” 

“T minus five minutes, guys. Faster is better.” Hill commented. 

Steve raised his shield and Sam adjusted his grip on his gun. The two men nodded at each other and then opened the door to move deeper into the bowels of the helicarrier. 

As quietly as possible you raced up the stairs, hardly daring to breathe as you charged after the man that you knew was heading off to execute your granddaughter. You weren’t going to let that happen. 

“Clearing the forty-first floor now. Heading towards the northwest elevator.” Rumlow called into his comms just as you reached him. You didn’t break your stride as you raced up to him and threw yourself around his waist, twisting up and around until your thighs were around his neck. You squeezed with everything you had as he stumbled forward, tripping through a set of doors. You could feel him slackening underneath you when abruptly he pitched forward, slamming your head hard against the ground. You heard an echoing groan of pain from the comm unit and braced yourself for a short lecture from your soulmate but he seemed to have bigger fish to fry. You pushed to your feet as Steve spoke. 

“People are going to die, Buck. I can’t let that happen. Please don’t make me do this.” The desperation in your soulmates voice cut at your heart, and you silently begged anyone who was listening that Steve could break through to Bucky because although you would both fight and die to save him, you weren’t going to be able to look the other way this time. Not if it was a choice between Bucky and twenty million innocent lives. 

Across from you, Rumlow pushed to his feet. You kept your eyes focused on him even if your heart was focused on the fight happening 3,000 miles above your head. 

“Tsk, tsk, Babushka.” Rumlow said, shouldering his jacket off. He tossed it aside and moved into a weak defensive position. “And here I thought you were still wasting away like the forgotten little bitch that you are.” 

You knew that he was trying to rile you up. He was going to have to work a lot harder than that if he wanted you to lose control. You’d been to hell and back. He didn’t scare you. 

“Tsk, tsk, Rumlow. Here I thought you were actually worth a damn.” 

You watched the rage replace the smug smirk that he’d had on his face and you didn’t waste any more time as you charged forward and went for his knees. At the last second, you threw your weight backwards and slid on the ground, knocking his knees from under him. You popped to your feet a few feet away and pulled your gun from your holster. You aimed the gun at his knee, but before you could pull off a shot, a burning hole sliced through your side. Instinctively, you turned to the side as 3,000 miles up, Bucky grazed Steve with a bullet. 

You swung back to Rumlow, but the small distraction had been all he needed. He grabbed a stapler off a desk and flung it at your weapon. Your gun went skittering away as you barrel rolled in the opposite direction to avoid Rumlow’s charge. 

A heavy weight felt like it slammed into your leg as you tried pushing to your feet. You crumpled down with a groan. 

Rumlow reached down and gripped your hair, forcing your head up as he shoved a knife to your throat. “You know, it’s a shame it had to end like this. I would have liked to see what the two of us could have done together.” 

He pressed the knife closer to your neck and you felt blood start oozing down your throat. “Yeah. It really is.” You murmured as you reached into the waistband of your pants and pulled your gamma gun out. 

Before Rumlow could drive the knife deeper, you whipped out the gun and aimed it at his face, pulling the trigger. Rumlow dropped the knife and clutched his head as he screamed in pain. You pushed to your feet and watched in morbid fascination as his skin bubbled and deformed. Still, you stepped closer, keeping the gun aimed in his direction as he continued screaming, until the screams died out. 

You hobbled over to your gun and shot him in the knee just for good measure before you turned back to the stairwell. 

Just as you were slipping the gun back into your waistband, something seemed to punch you in the stomach. You bent forward, suddenly winded before, seconds later, you slammed to the ground. You coughed as you rolled to your feet and pushed towards the stairwell. “You okay, Stevie?” You choked out. 

“Sorry, doll.” He grunted, taking another blow. 

You fell against the wall and started pulling yourself up the stairwell. “Where’s Natalia, Hill?” You grit out. 

“Two floors up.” She responded. 

“Thank yo . . .” Your scream echoed eerily in the stairwell as you felt a knife impale Steve in the shoulder. 

You bit back a thousand curses and kept pulling yourself forward. Tears threatened to spill down your cheeks, but you refused to let them. 

You pulled yourself up the stairs with more speed than you felt capable of. You could hear Steve’s frantic murmurs as he fought his best friend and you felt anger start to well in your soul. Everything that had happened to you, Steve and Bucky. Everything that your daughter and granddaughter had been put through, and all of it could be pinned to HYDRA’s wall. 

You found doors for the forty-third floor and you slammed them open. Your eyes quickly took in everything. Fury and Nat were standing nervously amid the mass of dead council members. Pierce was standing with that overly smug expression on his face that you’d never liked, finger poised threateningly over a button. 

You didn’t hesitate. 

With one hand keeping pressure on your stab wound, your other hand raised the gun and fired a single shot, point blank, directly into Pierce’s head. 

He dropped with little fanfare. 

A traitors death. 

Nat and Fury both glanced you over with something akin to shock in their eyes. You smiled weakly. It wasn’t often you could surprise the two of them. 

A hole abruptly opened up in your thigh and you dropped to the ground with another pained scream. 

“Babushka!” 

“Zero!” 

The two of them rushed to your side. Nat rolled you over and pressed her hand to the wound, her terrified eyes meeting yours. Another hole opened up in your hand and you tried to call out to Steve but the room was spinning and you sucked in heaving lungsful of air, trying to stay afloat instead. 

“Thirty seconds, Cap’!” Hill warned, voice tense with panic. 

“Stand by!” He ordered breathlessly. 

“Gun, Babushka. Where’s the gamma gun?” Nat demanded. 

“Ba . . . back.” You stuttered. 

Nat turned you gently to the side and reached for the gamma gun, somehow still safely tucked in the waistband of your pants. 

She felt another jolt shoot through you and spun you back to see angry red blossoming against your abdomen. Your mouth fell open to call out in pain but something thick and coppery made you choke on your words. 

Blood dribbled down your chin as you weakly felt for Fury’s free hand. “Ta . . . take care of them.” You begged him. 

“Charlie lock.” You heard Steve breath out. 

“Okay, Cap’. Get out of there!” Hill commanded. 

“Doll?” Steve called out. “Doll you there?” 

You shook your head, your mouth unwilling to move as Nat pressed the gamma gun desperately against your temple. “She’s here, Cap’. She’s not doing good. You need to get out of there.” 

3,000 miles above your heads, Steve shook his head. Tears streamed down his face. He wasn’t getting out of this one. And based on the panic in Nat’s voice, you weren’t getting out of this one either. “I think we both know how this one is going, doll.” He said desperately. 

“Dedushka, don’t you dare.” Nat yelled into the comms. “Don’t you dare!” 

Steve shook his head. “I’m proud of you, kid. Go do great things.” He whispered. 

Nat swore in Russian and jiggled the gun against your temple but your eyes were already starting to slip closed. 

“Fire now.” Steve ordered. 

“But . . . Steve . . .” Hill started. 

“Do it! Do it now!” He yelled into the comms, pushing to his feet. 

He braced himself against the targeting console and turned his attention back to you. “Sorry doll. I’ll see you on the other side.” 

Hill launched the weapons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that . . . that was a ROUGH one to write.
> 
> Excuse me while I go cry in the corner.
> 
> Three things to mention first: Why is Babushka worse off right now than Steve? Well, remember, her "super soldier formula" doesn't work unless she's being exposed to constant radiation and she bled pretty heavily before she even got to Nat so technically, she's dying "faster" than Steve.
> 
> The second thing - where's Sam? Steve and him split up on their way to the helm. That fight only took about four minutes so Sam just didn't have enough time to get there to help Steve, especially since of everyone involved right now only Sam hasn't set foot on a helicarrier yet and doesn't, as a result, know his way around. He'll be appearing shortly in the next chapter.
> 
> Lastly, what the hell just happened to Rumlow? It's my head-canon that he got a nice little dose of HYDRA flavored super soldier serum. It's really just a cheap knock off of Bucky's serum which is a cheap knock off of Steve's. In fact, compositionally speaking, it's a lot closer to Banner's serum, which, if you recall, does bad things when exposed to gamma radiation. So. Oops.
> 
> Hope you're still enjoying it!  
> 
> 
> Thoughts? Likes? Prophecies?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	24. Getting Through

Explosions rocked the ship and Steve did his best to keep his balance as he crept along the railing. His ears were trained on the comms where he could still faintly hear Nat begging you to fight. 

One of the railings gave way and Steve fell forward, looking down over the wreckage of the hellicarrier as it was slowly torn apart by its own weapons. Bucky lay on the ground, pinned under a huge metal support beam. 

Steve didn’t have to think twice as he heaved himself up and slid down the glass paneling. He crawled to Bucky’s side, wheezing against the pain. “Cap’? Cap’! I’m coming, man! I’m coming!” 

“No. Sam. Get outta here! No sense in us both going down!” Steve ordered as he reached over and started prying the beam off Bucky’s body. He grit his teeth and dug deep and pulled with everything he was worth. 

Bucky’s eyes widened in disbelief as he scrambled out from under the fallen beam. Steve dropped the beam back down and collapsed beside it. “You know me.” He begged. 

Bucky shook his head frantically, a trace of panic lighting them up. “No, I don’t!” He screamed, lunging for Steve. 

Steve grunted as his wounded back made contact with the ground. Bucky towered over him, fist poised to strike. 

“Bucky.” Steve panted. “You’ve known me my whole life. Please. Please don’t do this.” 

“I don’t!” Bucky screamed, punching Steve’s with his metal hand. 

Only a few yards away, your nose shattered with the impact of it as Fury and Nat carried you to the helicopter waiting on the roof. 

“Hang in there, Babushka. Hang on.” Nat murmured, clinging tightly to your hand as your head lolled. 

Steve threw Bucky off of him and stood shakily to his feet. “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes.” 

“Shut up!” Bucky roared, lunging for Steve again and throwing him to the ground. 

Steve pushed once again to his feet. He could swear he felt your heartbeat slowing and he made his choice. He couldn’t save you. But he could save Bucky. He’d do whatever it took to do so. 

“I’m not going to fight you.” He murmured, tossing his helmet aside so he could look at Bucky’s face one last time. “You’re my friend and I love you.” 

For a brief moment, he thought he saw a flash of something in Bucky’s eyes but in the next second it was gone. 

Bucky dove for him again, and slammed Steve against one of the metal trusses. “You’re my mission!” He roared. 

He reared his metal arm back and slammed it into Steve’s face over and over. 

Steve breathed out your name and Bucky’s arm froze. “You’re hurting her.” Steve pleaded. “You’re hurting her.” 

Bucky’s gaze clouded in confusion and Steve shook his head. “But if you’re gonna finish us, finish us. We’re with you till the end of the line.” 

Steve’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, but he still managed to catch the quiver in the Winter Soldiers lips as he mouthed your name and the horror that filled his gaze as he glanced over Steve’s battered body. 

Before Bucky could say anything else, something crashed through the floor, taking Steve with it. 

“Hill?! Do you have eyes on Steve?” Nat called desperately, holding the gamma gun steadily against your forehead. Your face was a bloodied mess and you were barely breathing. They needed to find Steve and get him out of there or neither of you were going to make it. For once, Nat wasn’t able to keep her fear locked away inside as she watched the life slowly ebbing out of the only family she had left. 

“Negative! Falcon?” Hill yelled. 

“Nega . . . wait! I’ve got him!” Sam called, shooting forward. “I got . . .” Sam grunted as something collided with him, knocking him out of the air and splashing him into the water. His wings sputtered as the gears locked with debris and water. He glanced around desperately as he looked for Steve’s body in the cold river waters. Sam fumbled with the straps of his wings as he tried to get out of the contraption that was weighing him down and pulling him to the bottom of the river. He finally managed to pry them off and he watched them sink to the bottom as he pushed himself up through the water. 

Sam broke the surface and sputtered as he frantically glanced around. Just before he took a deep breath to dive back into the murky water, he spotted a figure in the distance, pulling another figure clad in spangly red-white-and-blue. 

“Hey! Hey!” He shouted, his strong arms paddling through the water as quickly as he could manage. What he wouldn’t give to still have his wings. 

“Hey! Leave him alone!” He called. 

He watched helplessly, still too far out as the Winter Soldier heaved Steve’s unconscious body onto the rocky shore. For a long moment, the assassin eyed Steve before he shook his head and backed away. 

Just as Sam neared the shore, Bucky took one last glance at Steve’s body and turned and ran off. 

Sam glanced in his direction as he raced to Steve’s body. He frantically checked Steve’s vitals and felt how sluggish they were. He pressed his hands to the wound in Steve’s abdomen. “Hello? Copy? Does anyone copy?” He called into his comms, praying it was waterproof. 

“I . . . do . . . copy?” Static crackled in Sam’s ear. 

“I’m on the east riverbank. Repeat, east riverbank. Cap’ is down! Cap’ is down!” 

“Roger . . . send . . . b . . up.” 

Sam winced as the static attacked his eardrum again and then he brushed pushed both his hands against Steve’s stomach. “Don’t you die on me. Don’t you do it. Your soulmate will kill me if you do, man. I’m not even kidding about that.” 

Steve didn’t respond. 

Steve’s eyes fluttered open. He felt dazed and confused as he looked up at the generic ceiling tiles and heard the steady beeping of a heart monitor. Soft jazz sounded in his ear. 

He turned his head to the side and saw Sam sitting by his bed, reading a book. “Nothin’ better to do than watch an old man sleep, huh?” He asked, still trying to wrap his head around things. 

Sam glanced up and smirked. “Maybe I’m not watching you. You ever think of that?” 

Steve’s brows furrowed in confusion and he glanced at Sam. Sam leaned back in his chair so Steve could see past the man to who was lying in the bed on the other side. 

Steve bolted upright as he took in your battered features. Your face was more bruise than anything else. Thick bandages covered your nose where it had been reconstructed. He knew without looking that thick bandages covered your shoulder and torso too. 

He called your name softly, desperately, but you didn’t stir. 

Sam leaned forward in his chair again, grabbing Steve’s attention. “She’s gonna be fine, man. She’s just asleep.” 

Steve shook his head and tried to get out of bed, but Sam was on his feet in the next second. “Whoa, hey there. Are you trying to get me kicked out? Keep struggling like that and the nurses are gonna think I’m the one provoking you.” 

Sam shoved Steve back into bed. It didn’t take much. Still, Steve struggled. 

“Dude. You gotta stop. You’re gonna hurt yourself and then you’re gonna hurt her.” 

Steve froze and fell back against his pillows, though his head was still craning to look over at you. You looked so small in the bed. So still. 

Sam settled on the edge of Steve’s bed and the two of them looked over your sleeping form. “What happened?” Steve asked. 

Sam scoffed. “You got your ass handed to you, what do you think?” 

Steve nodded. His brow furrowed in pain as he remembered his fight against Bucky. Nat’s voice echoed in his ear. “I cut you, she bleeds.” 

You’d felt all of it . . . 

“Hey, man. Don’t do that. It doesn’t do any good to dwell on what you could have done differently. Trust me. Sometimes, there are no good options. Just be grateful you both lived to see another day.” 

Steve let out a long sigh and tried to take Sam’s words to heart. 

“She’ll really be okay?” He asked. 

Sam glanced at you for a long time. “How to put it in terms you’ll understand . . . ‘A dame like that? You’d have to be a Fat-Head to bet against her’.” Sam smiled as he finally got to use some of the 1940s slang he’d looked up on the internet shortly after meeting Steve. 

Steve laughed quietly. “You really would have to be.” He agreed, glancing at you again. 

You’d survived two wars and the fall of SHIELD. You’d survived dementia. Hell, you’d survived the Winter Soldier. There was nothin’ you couldn’t do. 

You mumbled Steve’s name in your sleep and sighed as you shifted. Steve’s smile brightened. 

You’d be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue to go!
> 
> You know, when I first posted the first chapter a month ago, I did NOT expect it to go as long or as well as it has gone. The idea started out a couple months ago with just the first few sentences of the first chapter. It sat, unfinished, in my docs for months while I tried to figure out where I wanted it to go.
> 
> I did NOT see any of this coming.
> 
> It's quickly become my favorite fic that I've written so far. You should have seen some of the excited jumping that happened after I posted some of these chapters.
> 
> Still, though, it's been a wild ride and though this part is ending, I'm not so sure I'm ready to say goodbye to the characters. So, big question, would you guys want to see more eventually?
> 
> Lemme know!
> 
> Also, if you have any requests for the epilogue, comment 'em. I can't guarantee they'll make it in, but I'll do my best!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).


	25. Epilogue

Steve had one arm wrapped around your shoulders and the other held your elbow gently as he helped you walked through the cemetery. You’d already insisted three times that it wasn’t necessary, but every time, his answer was the same. “I know it’s not, sweetheart. But cut me some slack anyway, huh?” 

You were almost recovered from Steve’s fight with Bucky. The scars blended in nicely with the rest of the ones you’d been collecting over the past seventy years. 

It was amazing what that gamma gun of yours could do. 

You needed to work on a better solution though. Two weeks was too long and with Steve planning on going after Bucky again . . . you were going to need a faster way to heal. 

The two of you approached a grave. Sam was already standing in front of it, paying his respects. He turned to glance at the two of you as you approached. “Took you two long enough.” He said, smiling. 

You laughed lightly. “Sorry to keep you waiting, flyboy. Someone took awhile making sure his hair fell just right.” 

Steve kissed the top of your head gently. “That’s me. Had to look good for my adoring public.” 

“Or maybe just your adoring wife.” You said, glancing up at him. 

A steamy look passed between the two of you as you both made promises with your eyes for tonight. 

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly. “Is this how it’s gonna be now?” He asked. “I think I might prefer to go back to fighting the Winter Soldier.” 

Steve laughed as he tucked you back into his side. 

The three of you stood around silently for a minute before the man you were waiting for finally snuck up behind you. “So, you’ve experienced this sort of thing before.” Fury said, glancing at your soulmate. 

Steve smirked. “You get used to it.” 

It didn’t escape your notice that he held you a little tighter than before. 

You wrapped your arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. 

Fury nodded and glanced at his own grave. “We’ve been data mining files.” He said. “A lot of assets didn’t go down with the ship. I’m headed to Europe tonight. I want you to come with.” This time his gaze was directed at you. Steve’s arms tensed around you again and though you knew he’d never stop you, you also knew what was running through his head. ‘No way in hell.’ 

You smiled at the director. “I’ll think about it.” You said. “But there’s something we need to do first.” You gestured between you and Steve. 

Fury seemed disappointed but he didn’t let it show for too long before he turned to Sam. “What about you? I could use someone with your skills on my team.” 

Sam smirked. “I’m more of a soldier than a spy.” He acknowledged. “Besides. I think I’ve already been recruited.” He glanced your way and a knowing smile passed between the two of you. 

“Well. Alright then.” Fury said. He took one last glance at his headstone and then he nodded at the three of you and disappeared just as quickly as he’d come. 

“He still gives me the creeps.” Sam noted. 

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” You warned teasingly. “He’ll start doing it on purpose.” 

Steve turned down to face you. “You gonna go with him?” He asked, concern brimming in his eyes. He traced a finger down your shoulder where underneath your jacket a jagged wound still burned when you shifted too much. 

You peered off in the direction that Fury had disappeared to. “Maybe. Eventually. Not tonight though.” 

Steve’s eyes smoldered and he bent his head to kiss you when another voice broke the silence. 

“No way in hell.” Nat grouched, coming up behind you two. 

Steve smirked and pressed a quick kiss to your lips before the two of you turned to face your granddaughter. 

“Afternoon, Natalia.” You said pleasantly. “I caught the tail end of your appointment with Capitol Hill.” You walked up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’m proud of you pauk.” You whispered in Russian. 

Nat clung to you tightly for a just a minute before she cleared her throat and stepped away. “You aren’t going with Fury.” She said firmly, in English for Steve’s benefit. 

You smirked. “I think the mothering is supposed to happen the other way around.” You pointed out wryly. You knew that Nat had taken care of you for the five years you’d been under the weather. She’d had to mother-hen you then. It was going to be hard for her to turn that off. 

She glared at you. “Someone’s got to do it. Dedushkas not.” 

She turned her venomous glare over your shoulder, and you felt Steve flinch slightly. Nat still hadn’t forgiven him for nearly getting the both of you killed. You sighed and approached her gently. You took her hands in hers. “If I’d been able to, I would have made the same choices, my little pauk. You need to forgive him.” You whispered gently in Russian as you reached up to stroke her hair. 

Nat’s eyes fluttered closed and she shook her head. “He didn’t just almost kill himself, Babushka. Though that was bad enough. He almost killed you too.” She argued. 

You sighed and pulled her close. “Our bond is special, Natalia. You know this. He’s no more in control of it than I. Sometimes there are things out of our control. You are strong. But this is a lesson you must learn.” You leaned back and cupped her face. You placed a kiss on her forehead. “Sometimes you have to let things go.” 

Nat held onto your arms, keeping you close while she struggled to accept what you were telling her. You saw the grudging light of acceptance flash through her eyes and nodded. 

You changed the subject. “You can come with us.” You offered, once again in English. 

She shook her head. “I burned all my identities. I need to go make a new one.” 

Steve stepped up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. “That could take awhile.” He warned, glancing at her with firm hope burning in his eyes. The two of you hadn’t talked about it, but you knew Nat’s anger towards him was grating on his soul. He wanted a relationship with his granddaughter. 

You rubbed his arms soothingly. 

“I’m counting on it.” She murmured. Nat glanced between the two of you, her eyes focusing in on your hands against Steve’s arms and you saw something soften in her gaze. She glanced up at Steve and the smallest smile you’d ever seen graced her lips. “Don’t worry, Dedushka. I’ll be back. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She said. 

You felt Steve let out a relieved breath behind you and he nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.” He warned. 

Nat smiled and turned to walk away. “Oh, before I forget.” She turned back and held out a folder. Steve stepped around you to take it. “I called in a few favors from Kiev.” She said. 

The two of them glanced at the folder for a minute before Nat leaned up to whisper something in Steve’s ear that you didn’t quite catch. 

“Do me a favor?” She asked. 

Steve nodded. 

“Take care of her.” Nat pulled away and Steve nodded. “Take care of yourself too, Dedushka. I still want a home to come back to.” 

Steve smiled at her. A blinding and lopsided smile. 

Nat leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Be careful.” She called over her shoulder. “That’s one thread you may not want to pull on.” 

Then she was gone. 

Steve took a deep breath and flipped open the file. You and Sam stepped up behind him and your heart broke just a little as you stared at the picture inside. Bucky, frozen in cryo with lost look on his face. 

“You two are going after him.” Sam said. It wasn’t a question. 

Steve glanced at you over his shoulder and you nodded subtly. “You don’t have to come.” He said. 

“I know.” Sam glanced at the file and then around the quiet cemetery. “When do we leave?” 

You and Steve smirked. “Tomorrow.” You said in unison. 

Sam scoffed and walked away muttering something about newly-weds under his breath. 

Steve flipped the folder closed and reached out to take your hand in his. He held it up and kissed your knuckles before he started leading you back to your car. “So, Mrs. Rogers. What do you say we go dancing?” 

“Well, Mr. Rogers. I’d say you’ve owed me a dance for almost seventy years now.” 

Steve threw back his head and laughed and for a minute, everything was right in the world. 

Neither of you noticed the man standing half-way behind a tree. His baseball hat was pulled low over his eyes. His clothes were rumpled and dirty. Anyone who had seen him would have assumed he was a bum. Not that anyone would see him. He was too good at his job. Seventy years of training would do that to a person. 

The man’s eyes followed the two of you as you talked and laughed all the way back to your car. His eyes narrowed in on you and one word crossed his lips. 

“Y/N?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we're done! That was a wild ride.
> 
> And I'm seriously not ready to give these guys up! So, there will be a sequel. I don't know when I'm going to post it, but definitely sooner than later, so if you guys want more, keep an eye out for that.
> 
> Thank you everyone who read and commented and liked and were just, in general, a part of this adventure with me. It was crazy! But fun.
> 
> Thanks for reading, guys. Love you!
> 
> For those interested, here's a look at the current known timeline within the story.
> 
> 1918 - Steve Rogers is born.  
> 1919 - You are born.  
> 1939 - WWII starts.  
> 1940 - You and Steve meet.  
> 1942 - Steve becomes Captain America.  
> 1945 - Steve goes into the ice. WWII ends. You and Peggy found SHIELD.  
> 1946 - You go to Russia due to Cold War rumors. You give birth to Alena.  
> 1947 - Cold War starts.  
> 1978 - Alena gets married.  
> 1984 - Natasha is born. You get caught by Russian authorities and are tortured.  
> 1985 - You are rescued by SHIELD.  
> 1991 - Cold War ends.  
> 1992 - Alena and Viktor are murdered. Natasha is recruited to the Red Room.  
> 2006 - Clint recruits Natasha to SHIELD. You and Natasha are reunited.  
> 2009 - Your dementia sets in.  
> 2011 - Steve gets out of the ice.  
> 2012 - Battle of New York (First Avengers Movie). Steve finds out about you.  
> 2013 - You, Steve, Natasha and Clint move to Washington DC.  
> 2014 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier begins. You REMEMBER. (Present Day).

**Author's Note:**

> This is a vague sort of idea that's been floating in my head for SO, DANG, LONG. I wondered if you guys would want more and it was a resounding yes! It's taken on a life of it's own, but isn't that true for all the good ones?
> 
> Here we go.


End file.
